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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26543299">Piece By Piece Like Dominoes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurohwa/pseuds/aurohwa'>aurohwa</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>"Enemies" to Friends to Lovers, M/M, cop hongjoong, dance studio owner wooyoung, however the fiancé is just an original character, however the south korea in this au is more open towards lgbt+ people because it's my au and i say so, idols from other groups as some other minor characters, other members are minor characters, small time criminal seonghwa, very small mentions of homophobia, will most likely add tags as events unfold and if i remember something</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:15:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>35,010</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26543299</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurohwa/pseuds/aurohwa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Wooyoung’s fiancé calls from his business trip in South Korea, announcing he’s met someone new and won’t be coming back home, Wooyoung faces his fear of flying to confront the fiancé and get him back.<br/>What he doesn’t account for is meeting Seonghwa - a small time criminal - on the same flight as him, someone who after some initial arguments and butting heads, ends up volunteering to help Wooyoung get his fiancé back.</p><p>Neither of them expect the feelings starting to emerge.</p><p> </p><p>(loosely based and adapted from the 1995 movie French Kiss)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jung Wooyoung/Park Seonghwa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>122</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello there, and welcome to to my first chaptered fic!!</p><p>i really hope you'll like it as it is my first ever major work :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If anyone asked, Wooyoung would have said he had a near perfect life.

He had a fiancé he loved, they had recently decided they were ready to make an offer on their dream apartment after it was put on the market, his dance studio was doing better than it ever had before…  At this point it didn’t even matter anymore that his adoptive parents broke off all contact once he’d come out as gay. Mark’s parents were the most loving people and they had accepted him with open arms, giving him more love since they started dating than his adoptive parents ever had.</p><p>But, as it happens sometimes in life… some things are just too good to be true, and Wooyoung found that out the hard way four days into Mark’s business trip to South Korea. </p><p>Originally they were supposed to go together. Wooyoung’s adoptive parents had never bothered taking him back to his birthplace, or even teaching him about his culture - he didn’t even know how his own name was supposed to be spelled in hangul - and when Mark first found out about this trip, he had been quick to invite Wooyoung along with the promise of staying an extra two weeks. They were both excited to explore the country, and Wooyoung felt there was no one else he’d rather do it with. Getting to experience what was supposed to be his heritage with someone he loved was something he’d always dreamed of, after all. There was just one, small issue:</p><p>Wooyoung was <em>terrified </em>of flying. At first, the excitement blocked out his nerves, but the closer they got to the actual date for their flight, the worse it got. Eventually he wasn’t even able to sleep at night because he kept replaying every single thought of things that could go wrong.
Mark tried to help, of course. He’d even booked an aerophobia treatment at some facility as a last resort, hoping desperately it would work - but Wooyoung had freaked out so massively during the simulation the center had no other option but to give them their money back.</p><p>
It was at this point Wooyoung admitted defeat and told Mark to simply go without him which he did, albeit reluctantly. The first couple of days went by smoothly, even though Wooyoung felt lonely and sad, despite Mark calling as often as he could. 
Marks latest call had been very early that same morning, just checking in quickly before heading over to some club with other people from the same conference he was visiting. Wooyoung had been slightly nervous all day not knowing if he had gotten back to the hotel safely afterward or not - so when his phone rang and the caller id told him it was Mark, he sighed out of relief and accepted the call, muting the Netflix-show he had been trying to occupy himself with.</p><p>
“Mark?”<br/>
<em>“Woo? Woo?!”<br/>
</em>“Yes Mark, it’s me,” Wooyoung chuckled. “Are you still drunk? ”</p><p>He could hear Mark chuckle nervously on the other end.<br/>
<em>“Yeah, I mean no, I… Something has happened, Woo.”</em><br/>
“What?” Wooyoung sat up straight, clutching the phone tighter. “What’s wrong? What happened?”<br/>
<em>“Oh Woo, I’m just… I’m just so happy, you know? I’m so happy and so… fucked up, I really fucked up, Woo. But it’s destiny.”</em><br/>
“What - Mark, what’s destiny?”<br/>
<em>“I met this… this apparition, this GOD of man…”</em><br/>
</p><p>Wooyoung felt his heart sink to his stomach.</p><p>“A god..?”<br/>
<em>“I met him at the bar last night and I’ve - I’ve never felt like this before, I feel like I could do anything! I could… rule the world, climb the highest mountain! I could even walk into the men’s room and pee with some big guy standing behind me!”</em><br/>
“What? Wait, Mark, what are you saying?! Are you-”<br/>
<em>“Woo, I’m… I’m not coming back. I’m in love. I’m so sorry… I really am.”<br/>
</em></p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p><em></em>Wooyoung’s phone hit the floor just as the disconnect tone started playing.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter One.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Wooyoung didn’t understand a word of what they were saying and was just about to go back to focusing on his song when the air hostess suddenly caught his eye and pointed in Wooyoung’s direction. The man who had been arguing turned around with a frown, then gestured in frustration before sighing, and oh no, oh no, he started walking over to where Wooyoung was sitting.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It wasn’t until Wooyoung sat there, buckled up in his seat watching the stream of passengers enter the plane that the realization of what he was about to do started to hit him - but there was no way he was backing out, he couldn’t. Instead he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and started humming a Lauv-song he’d been particularly fond of lately to try and shift his focus from the way his mind wanted to drift to twisted burning metal, smoke, and screaming…</p><p>No wait, the screaming wasn’t screaming as much as it was someone arguing in a loud voice, and it certainly wasn’t conjured by Wooyoung’s own mind. Part annoyed, part curious he opened his eyes again and scanned the front of the plane for the disturbance, finding it in the shape of a tall man with black hair gesturing wildly in the direction of some occupied seats, with a flustered air hostess trying to diffuse the situation.<br/>
Wooyoung didn’t understand a word of what they were saying and was just about to go back to focusing on his song when the air hostess suddenly caught his eye and pointed in Wooyoung’s direction. The man who had been arguing turned around with a frown, then gestured in frustration before sighing, and oh no, oh no, he started walking over to where Wooyoung was sitting.</p><p>He looked… well, dangerous was the only word Wooyoung could come up with. He wore black ripped skinny jeans, a white t-shirt lazily tucked into it, and a worn fitted leather jacket on top. His hair was styled in a way that seemed both effortless and intentional, the longer fringe falling over his right eye where Wooyoung was sure he saw the faint glimmer of an eyebrow piercing - and then there were the <em>tattoos</em>.<br/>
He could see ink spreading out from underneath the cuff of the leather jacket towards the back of the man's right hand, and another one climbing up the left side of his neck from what seemed to be a larger piece covering that same side of his chest, possibly even the shoulder.</p><p>Wooyoung lifted his gaze back up to the man’s face only to realize he was looking back with an amused smirk and a raised brow - oh yeah, that was definitely an eyebrow piercing. Feeling his cheeks turn hot he slammed back into his seat in embarrassment, picking back up where he left off in the song while forcing himself to ignore the man sitting down next to him with every fiber of his being.</p><p>He didn’t even get past the first chorus of the song before he heard the man chuckle and say something that he, again, didn’t understand. Wooyoung decided to just continue ignoring him, closing his eyes, and was about to go back to humming when he felt a light poke against his arm.</p><p>“No Korean? You don’t look American though.”<br/>
Wooyoung opened his eyes only to find the man next to him staring at him, still wearing the same amused smirk on his face.<br/>
“No Korean,” Wooyoung simply stated, focusing on the seat in front of him and humming once more, only to be distracted by the man who would not. Stop. Staring.<br/>
“Didn’t your mother teach you it’s rude to stare?”<br/>
The stranger simply shrugged.</p><p>“Are you scared?” he asked instead, with a heavy accent to his words.<br/>
“Look, it’s my first time flying, so yeah, I’m a little nervous,” Wooyoung bit back, which only caused the man to throw his head back with a laugh.<br/>
“What do you think, the plane is going to crash and we’ll all end up on the ground in a thousand pieces dead? I promise, if it happens you won’t feel a thing.”<br/>
Wooyoung was so stunned he didn’t even manage to throw a glare at him in reply. Screw dangerous, he was just plain rude!<br/>
The man in question didn’t seem to take notice, instead he reached out his hand while still clearly being amused by Wooyoung’s fear.<br/>
“I’m Park Seonghwa, by the way. I’m curious, how have you gotten around your whole life? Or do you just stay inside with the doors and windows locked?”</p><p>“I get around as nature intended,” Wooyoung huffed. “In a car.”</p><p>
The man - Seonghwa - pulled a hand through his hair, letting out a small snort as the overhead speakers came to life - announcing something Wooyoung again didn’t understand. As soon as it stopped, he nudged Seonghwa and tried to keep the panic out of his voice.<br/>
“What did she say? That sounded serious.”<br/>
“The pilot says there’s a crack in the engine,” Seonghwa shrugged, “but not to worry, we’re taking off anyway.”<br/>
“HE WHAT?!”</p><p>Wooyoung was seconds away from flying out of his seat when the speakers came to life once more.
<em>“Ladies and gentlemen, please remember that the use of cellular phones and other electronic devices is forbidden during take-off.”</em><br/>
</p><p>Seonghwa gave Wooyoung what he must have thought was his most innocent smile, but the latter simply glared and leaned back.<br/>
“I don’t know what your parents taught you but rude and interesting are not the same thing.”<br/>
He could see Seonghwa open his mouth, probably to give him some witty remark in return, but in that same moment, the entire plane shook as the pilots started taking it out from the terminal.</p><p>Wooyoung was close to hyperventilating, he felt dizzy and numb at the same time and he could swear the safety instructions weren’t supposed to be this quick because they were over before he even registered what they were saying and oh help him god if Seonghwa wouldn’t stop smirking next to him -<br/>
</p><p>“<em>Folks, we’re third in line for take-off, so just relax,</em>” the pilot suddenly announced. “<em>We should be in the air in just a couple of minutes.</em>”<br/>
Relax?! Wooyoung could barely breathe, squeezing his eyes shut while clutching the armrests so hard his knuckles turned white. He wanted to go back to humming but he was afraid he would throw up if he did.<br/>
“Wow, it’s incredible,” he heard Seonghwa say. “Your every muscle in your body is tense, even the lids of your eyes! And your nostrils are closing up - how do you do that?”<br/>
Wooyoung carefully opened one eye, only to see Seonghwa slightly leaning towards him with an incredibly curious look on his face.</p><p>
“See me, I love to fly, especially this moment - the plane getting ready to charge the runway, the engines screaming, the pressure building, the force just <em>slamming</em> you into the back of your seat -” he emphasized by throwing himself back into his own seat, grinning like… a mad man, Wooyoung thought, “- and then whoosh, you’re in the air! Everything else is behind you!”<br/>
Wooyoung turned to look properly at him, mouth slightly agape in wonder of how someone actually could be enjoying this. Seonghwa noticed him looking, and leaned against Wooyoung once more, gesturing him to come a little closer.<br/>
“There’s only one other place in life where I feel this kind of excitement,” he added in a faked whisper.<br/>
“Oh yeah? Where is that?” Wooyoung blurted out before he could think, making Seonghwa’s smirk even wider as he gave Wooyoung a small wink. “OH. No, no no, don’t tell me…. I can guess.” </p><p>“<em>Flight attendants, prepare for take-off.</em>”<br/>
“Oh god,” Wooyoung took a shuddering breath before falling forward, leaning his face into his hands. “I don’t think I can do this.”<br/>
“Have you ever thought that maybe it’s not the airplane?”<br/>
“What’s not the airplane?” he sighed, the response coming out muffled by his hands.<br/>
“Maybe you’re afraid of something else? Do I have to say it?”<br/>
“Well, you haven’t shut up so far so who am I to stop you,” Wooyoung muttered as he sat back up. “Come on then, what exactly am I afraid of?”<br/>
“It’s obvious to me, I know your type.”<br/>
“And just what type is that?”<br/>
“You,” Seonghwa said, pointing at him, “are afraid to live, really live. You’re afraid of life, afraid of love - afraid of <em>sex</em>.”</p><p>“Wha- that is ridiculous!” Wooyoung exclaimed, shoving Seonghwa’s hand away from his face.<br/>
“No, it isn’t. I can tell from your face and the way you dress - you’re the kind of person who, in bed, waits under the covers and then when the lights go off and then like a rabbit-”<br/>
Seonghwa imitated pulling up a blanket and limited by the seat belt, started doing some poor impression of a rabbit humping the air, along with a contorted facial expression.<br/>
“What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t know me!”<br/>
“But I do know, “ Seonghwa once again turned to Wooyoung while pointing at him, “I know your type! I know that you are afraid-”<br/>
“Shut up, you don’t know me, you don’t know what I do, and Mark never complained - stop pointing at me! Yes, there were a couple of months when I didn’t feel like it but that was when the studio wasn’t doing so well and it was a long time ago! So for you to sit there with that smug expression and tell me that <em>I</em> have a problem, with <em>my</em> life and <em>my</em> Mark, is actually insane! You’re just some rude fucking asshole who- WHAT?” Wooyoung spat out, having ignored the way Seonghwa was continuously nodding in his direction.<br/>
“Look,” Seonghwa said, pointedly nodding towards the airplane window once more. Wooyoung rolled his eyes, already prepared to fire off a sarcastic reply as he turned around…</p><p>They were in the air. They were actually in the air, and he had been so busy arguing with Seonghwa that he completely missed the plane taking off.<br/>
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he heard Seonghwa speak up behind him, and as he turned back to face him Wooyoung noticed a soft smile having replaced the previous smirk. A chime announced the seatbelts could be unbuckled, making Seonghwa quickly remove his belt and standing up. “Now, if you excuse me, I must go do ‘as nature intended.”</p><p>
Wooyoung was left in his seat, still in shock over how some random, crude stranger had managed to get him through something even licensed therapists had failed to do - and he hated to admit it, but when Seonghwa wasn’t smirking or teasing him, he actually… looked kind of nice.</p><p>Once Seonghwa got back from the airplane toilet the air hostesses had already started serving dinner, and Wooyoung was honestly happy to have something else catch Seonghwa’s interest for a little while - not that he seemed interested in talking anymore at the moment. He had simply sat down, eaten his dinner once it was served, and then apparently decided to take a nap. Wooyoung on the other hand decided to check out the in-flight entertainment after eating  and ended up getting through most of a Marvel-movie before dozing off.</p><p>Once he woke up, Seonghwa had disappeared again so Wooyoung grabbed the opportunity of not being stuck on the innermost seat and headed off to the toilets himself - only to return to his seat after and see Seonghwa was back too.<br/>
“There you are!” he grinned, letting Wooyoung pass to get to his seat. “I was waiting for you.”<br/>
“Oh lord help me,” Wooyoung muttered, before facing Seonghwa. “It’s not like I can just jump off the plane and escape now, can I?”<br/>
Seonghwa just hummed in response, clearly ignoring the sarcasm in Wooyoung's voice, as he occupied himself with pulling out the tray table.<br/>
“Do you drink?” He suddenly asked, reaching a hand inside one of the pockets in his leather jacket.
“I mean, yeah, sometimes, but why -”<br/>
Seonghwa just grinned as he started pulling out miniature bottle after miniature bottle of alcohol and placing them on the tiny table in front of him.<br/>
“Because. Are you making me drink alone or will you join me?” </p><p>He picked up two of the bottles and held one out for Wooyoung to take, and for a second Wooyoung considered telling him <em>fuck no</em> - but then he remembered the other’s accusations of him not knowing how to “truly live” and he really wanted to wipe the current smirk off the other’s face as he expectantly looked at Wooyoung... so he simply grabbed the tiny bottle, screwed off the cap and downed the contents of the bottle in one go, feeling the burn of alcohol all the way down his throat.<br/>
Seonghwa’s eyes widened with surprise for a split second (<em>hah, take that you bastard</em>, Wooyoung thought) before doing the same, grabbing Wooyoung’s now empty bottle and placing it next to his on the table as  picked up two new ones and shoved one into Wooyoung’s empty hand.<br/>
“Cheers!” he chuckled, clinking his own bottle against Wooyoung’s.</p><p>They sat in silence for a little while, calmly sipping the alcohol this time.<br/>
“Can I… ask you something?” Wooyoung suddenly said, surprising even himself - clearly downing that first bottle of alcohol affected him more than he thought.<br/>
“Go on.” Seonghwa raised an eyebrow, downing the last drops of his second bottle.<br/>
“Did you really mean all the things you said when we took off? Or were you just trying to make me angry?” Wooyoung turned so he could face Seonghwa properly. “Like… do I really look like someone who doesn’t know how to have fun?”<br/>
Seonghwa simply hummed, once more distributing new bottles to the two of them.<br/>
“How old were you when you first did it?”<br/>
“Did what?”<br/>
“It, you know - sex.”<br/>
“Oh, that - wait, what the hell does that have to do with anything?”<br/>
“Well, some people treat it like some kind of… precious gift and just wait and wait,” Seonghwa said with a roll of his eyes, “but other’s rush into it, seeking the thrill of the moment.”<br/>
“I have a feeling you were one of the latter?”<br/>
Seonghwa chuckled and gave Wooyoung another wink.<br/>
“Oh yes. Like a - how do you say it? Like a bull?”<br/>
“Yeah, I have a picture in my mind that’s unfortunately very clear.”<br/>
Seonghwa laughed, pulling a hand through his hair again.<br/>
“A very young bull, actually. I was 13. No, actually - I was 12.”<br/>
“You had sex when you were twelve years old?!”</p><p>
Seonghwa shrugged, sloshing around the alcohol in the bottle.<br/>
“It wasn’t a big deal - a friend of mine heard the older kids talking and wanted to try it out, so I volunteered. Anyway, your turn. I told you, so now you tell me.”<br/>
Wooyoung sighed, leaning back in his seat while staring at the bottle in his hand.<br/>
“Alright… Well, I didn’t rush, but it’s not like I waited either. I was 18, he was my first real boyfriend and just… I thought it would be special, and it was, but not in the sense I thought it would.”<br/>
He glanced at Seonghwa, seeing the other curiously tilt his head.<br/>
“Why? Was it that bad?”<br/>
“In the sense that my adoptive mother walked in on us as we were cuddling after,” Wooyoung said with a grimace, downing what was left in his bottle. “She threw a huge fit, threw him out and after a huge argument with her and my adoptive dad, I ended up on the street as well. It all worked out though. I had a friend, Chris, who let me stay at his place, and despite throwing me out they still paid for college - I think it was their way of trying to guilt-trip me into becoming straight or something by making me ‘owe them’, but obviously that didn’t work.”</p><p>
Wooyoung glanced at Seonghwa again who seemed to have been stunned into silence, so he cleared his throat and shook his head while letting out a humorless chuckle.<br/>
“So anyway, first time ended up… bad, but then I met Mark during college and it’s been good ever since. Actually... Seonghwa?”<br/>
“Hm?” he replied, raising an eyebrow.<br/>
“Do you believe in love? Like… the type of love that lasts forever?”<br/>
“I loved my mother?”<br/>
“No, not that kind - love as in two people meant for each other, that’s the question.”<br/>
Seonghwa chuckled, leaning back in his seat and turning to look at Wooyoung.<br/>
“That’s not a very interesting question though. It’s the question of someone who believes in fairy tales.”<br/>
“No, it’s not,” Wooyoung countered, cheeks turning red but whether it was the alcohol or because he felt embarrassed he didn’t know. “Everyone asks themselves if there’s that special someone for them out there, and they always think they have the answer until one day, something happens.”<br/>
“Oh? Did that something happen to you?” </p><p>Okay, this was definitely the alcohol talking now and Wooyoung did not feel ready to have that conversation with someone - even though he’d already divulged the fact he had been kicked out in his teens this  just felt a lot more private, and to be honest he didn’t have any problems shading his adoptive parents for the homophobic assholes they’d turned out to be. He still loved Mark though, so he just chuckled, deciding to play it off.</p><p>
“Look, I get it, a relationship for you is probably like having to eat at home for the rest of your life, right?” he chuckled, sitting up and turning against Seonghwa. “And you probably like going to a new restaurant every chance you get.”<br/>
He emphasized by bringing his hand down on Seonghwa’s stomach, grabbing the coat and squeezing - but didn’t expect feeling some kind… thing underneath. Seonghwa’s expression turned panicked, shoving Wooyoung’s hand away.<br/>
“Be careful, alright?” he bristled, adjusting his leather jacket as Wooyoung just stared. This was the first time he’d seen the man with another emotion than smug.<br/>
“What was that? Are you hiding something?”<br/>
“It’s nothing, forget about,” Seonghwa shook his head as he got up.<br/>
“Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”<br/>
“I have to go again.”<br/>
“Again?!”</p><p>
Seonghwa didn’t even reply or turn back to look at him as he rushed off in the direction of the toilets. Wooyoung looked after him until he disappeared behind the curtains separating the different classes, then shrugged and reached over to grab another of the bottles. Whatever Seonghwa was or wasn’t hiding, it wasn’t his problem.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>btw i've tried tagging this with all the relevant stuff i could think of, BUT, if you see something that you feel needs to be tagged don't hesitate to let me know!</p><p>and PLEASE leave kudos and a comment if you're enjoying the fic so far because it would really make my day T^T</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter Two.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Walking back out into the cabin he discovered the lights had been dimmed, and when he reached his seat the empty bottles of alcohol he had stolen from the drink cart earlier had been taken away, and the guy he was sitting next to was leaning against the wall, softly snoring.<br/>Seonghwa chuckled as he sat down, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. At least he wouldn’t have to respond to any prying questions about what he was hiding anymore tonight.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>well - last week i joked after wooyoung posted on twitter, that if seonghwa were to do it too  i'd upload the first part of this fic here on ao3. i did it anyway but IMAGINE how shocked i was when seonghwa DID post within minutes of me clicking "publish" 😂</p><p>and considering they both ended up posting today too, i figured i could upload it a day earlier than i had planned - but i swear if this becomes a reoccurring thing every weekend i'll flip my shit.</p><p>ANYWAY IMPORTANT NOTE about the fic from this point on:<br/>- first of all, from here on out the pov will switch between seonghwa and wooyoung and each time the pov changes it will be marked by a "***"<br/>- whenever the pov is seonghwa's and the dialogue is in italics, that means they're speaking korean.</p><p>if i've missed anything or something else is unclear, please don't hesitate to ask in the comments!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The minute he had closed and locked the door to the airplane toilet, Seonghwa leaned against the wall with a groan, dragging his hands over his face.<br/>
“Shit.”<br/>
He definitely hadn’t expected the guy to get handsy after some alcohol. Hopefully he was tipsy enough by this point to not pay any closer attention to what it was he had felt when he suddenly had felt the need to grope Seonghwa like that.</p><p>Seonghwa absent-mindedly touched the package inside his jacket. He might as well check it to be sure it was okay or there was a possibility Yunho would probably murder him. Pushing the airline-provided toiletries off to the side, he pulled out a small package wrapped up in brown fabric, gently unwrapping it to reveal a small grapevine. He picked it up, twisting and turning to inspect it closely - it wasn’t withering so that’s good, even though he was sure being so tightly wrapped and constantly being exposed to his body heat wasn’t ideal… he should probably water it a little bit again, just to be on the safe side.</p><p>He let the water run for a bit until it got lukewarm, then placed the grapevine into the sink and splashed some water over the fabric covering the roots, making sure it got evenly damp, nodding to himself when Seonghwa felt it was enough. He dried his hands as he glanced at the wrapping lying next to the sink. Ah, what the hell. He might as well check that too. He reached over to pick up one of the fabric pieces, glancing at the door while doing so to make sure he had indeed locked it, unfolding the piece of fabric and revealing a stunning diamond necklace.</p><p>As he admired the way the diamonds gleamed in the shitty fluorescent toilet-lighting, he once again thanked whatever higher powers existed that he had been able to come over the necklace earlier that week. Sometimes crashing charity events proved very useful, even though he mostly played a waiter - most of the upper class didn’t deem him worthy of any attention so it was incredibly easy sneaking around, listening to gossip about who carried what, and how expensive it was. Once he’d figured it out… the seduction-part came easy, and his sleight of hand was easier than ever with their guard lowered. </p><p>A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts quickly, quickly wrapping up both the necklace and the grapevine, and placing the entire package inside his leather jacket once more before leaving the toilets, not even bothering apologising to the sour woman outside. Walking back out into the cabin he discovered the lights had been dimmed, and when he reached his seat the empty bottles of alcohol he had stolen from the drink cart earlier had been taken away, and the guy he was sitting next to was leaning against the wall, softly snoring.<br/>
Seonghwa chuckled as he sat down, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. At least he wouldn’t have to respond to any prying questions about what he was hiding anymore tonight.</p><p>When Seonghwa woke up the following morning, the dude next to him was still completely passed out and stayed that way even over breakfast being served. He didn’t wake up until an hour before they were supposed to arrive and when Seonghwa had told him good morning, he just glared while reaching below his seat to pull out a backpack, rummaging in it for a second before pulling out a toothbrush and toothpaste and then disappearing off to the toilets.<br/>
Seonghwa looked at the open bag, conveniently sitting on the floor next to his feet as an idea took shape in his mind. Slowly glancing around, making sure no one was watching, he reached inside his jacket and took out the package, quickly wrapping it in the first thing he grabbed from the backpack which seemed to be a spare t-shirt, then shoving the now disguised package back inside the guys bag. Leaning back in his seat, he took another quick glance around, smiling as no one had seemed to take notice - now all that mattered was that the guy didn’t either.<br/>
And he didn’t. As he returned he just grunted at Seonghwa to let him get back to his seat, threw his stuff back inside the backpack and closed it, before crossing his arms and staring out the window. Seonghwa let go of the breath he hadn’t even realised he was holding, then smirked to himself. Now, if he just managed to follow the guy until they reached Seoul so he could retrieve the package, this would end up being way easier than he had originally thought.</p><p>“Why did you let me drink so much?” the guy groaned as they left the airplane, making their way towards security along with the rest of the passengers from their flight.<br/>
“Me? You did it all by yourself, I didn’t let you do anything. Hey -  let me give you a ride into Seoul, okay?”<br/>
The guy squinted suspiciously at Seonghwa, who once again tried to look as innocent as possible.<br/>
“Come on, it’s going to save you a lot of money! Besides, you don’t even know Korean, I can help.”<br/>
“And why should I trust you? For all I know this could be a… I don’t know, human trafficking attempt or something.”<br/>
Seonghwa couldn’t help but snort.<br/>
“Now now - if anything I should be the suspicious one. I gave you my full name while you didn’t even introduce yourself.”<br/>
<em>Touché</em>, he thought to himself as he watched the guy’s mouth open and close while his cheeks turned slightly pink.<br/>
“Wooyoung. It’s Wooyoung,” he eventually mumbled, just as they got to security. “And sure, I’ll let you give me a ride.”<br/>
“I promise you won’t regret it. Where are you staying? What hotel?”<br/>
“Hotel Shilla. That’s where Mark is.”<br/>
Seonghwa’s eyes widened for a split second before he let out a soft, impressed whistle. He knew the place well, had even stolen something from a guest there once a few years back. The place was luxurious as hell, so clearly whoever this Mark-guy was he must have money too if his employer let him stay there. Actually, to Seonghwa that would make even more sense as to why Wooyoung was chasing after him. Way more than love, at least.</p><p>After passing security and retrieving their bags - Wooyoung still not having noticed the extra item in his own - they reached the customs section.<br/>
“Nothing to declare, that’s you,” Seonghwa said and nudged Wooyoung into the right direction. “They’re going to stop me though, they always do for some reason.”<br/>
He looked at Seonghwa with a raised brow, before rolling his eyes.<br/>
“Yeah, wonder why.”<br/>
“Wait for me outside. I’ll just be one minute,” Seonghwa said, deciding to ignore the sarcasm evident in Wooyoung's voice. “Then I’m getting us a car into Seoul, okay?”<br/>
Wooyoung simply shrugged, then kept walking as one of the customs officers waved Seonghwa over while Wooyoung was allowed to just pass... as Seonghwa had anticipated.<br/>
“<em>Your passport and plane ticket, please</em>,” the officer said, receiving the items as he also gestured for Seonghwa to put his bag down. “<em>Could you open up your bag for me?</em>”<br/>
“<em>Of course,</em>” Seonghwa replied, glancing off to the side where he watched Wooyoung pass the doors leading to the arrival hall.</p><p>“<em>That won’t be necessary.</em>”<br/>
A voice spoke up from Seonghwa’s left, causing him to quickly turn around. His jaw dropped as he found himself looking at a man, shorter than himself, sporting a sandy-blonde mullet and a cheeky smile as he held out a police badge for the customs officer to see.<br/>
“<em>Hongjoong! What are you doing here?</em>”<br/>
“<em>What, don’t think cops take vacations?</em>” Hongjoong laughed, patting his shoulder before addressing the customs officer again. “<em>Give him his papers back.</em>”<br/>
“<em>Well, this is the last place I imagined I’d meet you in,</em>” Seonghwa replied, closing up his bag and grabbing his passport and ticket before letting Hongjoong lead him towards the arrival hall.<br/>
“<em>We’ve met in weirder place than this, Hwa.</em>”<br/>
“<em>You know what I mean.</em>”<br/>
“<em>Yeah... that’s fair, I guess. </em>”</p><p>Walking through the exit doors, he started scanning the area looking for Wooyoung, finding him a couple meters away, arms crossed and leaning against a pillar. Relieved that he hadn’t left yet, Seonghwa turned to Hongjoong .<br/>
“<em>Alright, got to go, thanks for helping out at customs. Let’s meet up next week and have a drink or something so we can catch up.</em>”<br/>
“<em>Why wait that long?</em>” Hongjoong smiled. “<em>Mingi is picking me up and there’s room for you in the car.</em>”<br/>
“<em>No, it’s alright, I have…</em>” Seonghwa trailed off as he watched Wooyoung huff and walk over to a taxi lined up outside, talking to it’s driver before opening the door and getting in. <em>Shit</em>. He hadn’t even left him waiting that long. Seonghwa took a mental deep breath, reminding himself that luckily Wooyoung had revealed the hotel name he’d be at. It was possible to find him even if they got separated.<br/>
“<em>You have…?</em>”<br/>
Right, Hongjoong was still waiting for an answer.<br/>
“<em>Never mind. Let’s go.</em>”</p><p>They managed to find Mingi quickly enough, the man being easy to spot with his bright red hair. The way he shouted and rushed up to hug Hongjoong, actually lifting him in the air as he spun him around was another dead giveaway. As they left the airport, Hongjoong in the front passenger seat and Seonghwa in the back, Hongjoong suddenly turned around and snatched Seonghwa’s bag from him.<br/>
Without a word he opened it and started going through the contents, causing Mingi to give him a funny look as Seonghwa just shrugged and let it happen. Wasn’t the first time.<br/>
“<em>Joongie, is there a reason you’re going through his bag?</em>”<br/>
Hongjoong pulled out a toiletry bag and opened it, pouring everything in it onto the clothes in his lap.<br/>
“<em>Just making sure the people I care about aren’t doing stupid shit.</em>”<br/>
“<em>You won’t find anything in there,</em>” Seonghwa said, catching Mingi’s eye in the rearview mirror.<br/>
“<em>Seonghwa, right? Is it true you’re a criminal?</em>”<br/>
“<em>I see you’ve heard of me,</em>” Seonghwa mumbled, kicking the seat in front of him that Hongjoong sat in, only getting a chuckle in response.<br/>
“<em>I also heard you saved his life.</em>”<br/>
“<em>He did,</em>” Hongjoong replied, now busy shoving the stuff he’d just poured out back into the toiletry bag. “<em>This scar right here -</em>” he pointed to a 3 inch scar on the right side of his neck, “<em>- would have gone all the way to the other side if Seonghwa hadn’t stopped the guy. I keep telling him he’s no criminal. He has just… made a couple bad decisions, that’s all.</em>”</p><p><br/>
</p><p>***</p><p><br/>
</p><p>As Wooyoung stood outside Hotel Shilla about 45 minutes later he definitely didn’t even want to try to process how much that taxi cost him and part of him felt stupid for leaving so quickly when Seonghwa had offered him a ride. The other part of him just felt like shouting  <em>good riddance</em>. Besides, he didn’t want to be hung up on Seonghwa of all people right now, least of all not when he knew he was so close to seeing Mark again.</p><p>Honestly the thought made him both excited and nervous, and he was kind of hoping that when Mark saw him standing there outside his hotel room, it would make him realise what Wooyoung had done for him and everything would be back to the way it was before.<br/>
With a deep breath, Wooyoung grabbed his suitcase tightly and walked into the lobby… and felt out of place immediately. The exterior had already impressed him, but it paled in comparison to the lobby with it’s open design, wooden details, marble flooring and the hundreds of tiny lights hanging from the ceiling which made it look like it was raining stars.<br/>
He stood there, gaping silently in amazement for a couple seconds before shaking himself out of it. He needed to get to the lobby and have them reach out to Mark for him - he had been trying to call during the taxi ride from Gimpo airport, but either his number was blocked or the phone was turned off because he kept getting sent straight to voicemail. </p><p>The front desk was his only option now, save for parking himself in the lobby with a view of the elevators, and just waiting until Mark showed up - and he really didn’t feel like putting himself in that position. He was already sticking out like a sore thumb with his skinny jeans, sneakers and blue knitted sweater among all the crisp suits and fancy dresses.<br/>
Taking another deep breath for courage, he walked over to the front desk and was faced with a tall, <em>stunning</em> man who carried the perfect example of a smiling resting bitch face. Oh boy.<br/>
“Welcome to Hotel Shilla. How may I help you?”<br/>
“Uhm… do you speak English?”<br/>
“Obviously,” the employee replied, raising an eyebrow. “This isn’t some one star hostel.”<br/>
“Right, of course not,” Wooyoung mumbled while feeling the blush creep up his cheeks. “Could you please tell me which room Mark Jones is staying in? He’s a guest here and he’s expecting me.”<br/>
“I’m afraid not. Perhaps you could try calling him yourself?”<br/>
“I have, but I’m only getting his voicemail.”<br/>
“Ah,” the employee simply replied, no change in his expression at all and making no movement to help. Wooyoung wanted to reach over and shake the guy.<br/>
“Look, mister - ” he scanned the employees uniform until he found a small golden badge, “- Cha... Hakyeon, I just spent 12 hours on an airplane crossing an ocean. I’m tired, and I’m hungry and I just want to see my fiancé! Now are you going to help me or not?”<br/>
The employee, Hakyeon, actually rolled his eyes this time.<br/>
“Sir, it is my duty as concierge here at Hotel Shilla to fiercely safeguard our guests' privacy. And if it so happens that our guests need to be guarded from their own fiancés, I am doing everything in my power to make it so.”</p><p>He gave Wooyoung a small smirk as he nodded, like that was the last of it, and Wooyoung was at this point starting to feel that maybe rudeness just came naturally to Koreans - even though he had only really interacted with two of them so far. He had an idea though, reaching for his wallet and pulling out a 50,000 won bill from his emergency money before placing it on the counter and sliding it towards Hakyeon.<br/>
Hakyeon simply taking it and placing it in his front pocket before turning around to continue sorting through papers was not the result he had been hoping for.<br/>
“Hey - I just gave you 50,000 won!”<br/>
“You did, and I took it - thank you,” he spoke over his shoulder. ”If there is anything else I can do, please let me know.”<br/>
Wooyoung was left gaping in shock once more. Stalking the lobby until Mark showed up it was then.</p><p>An hour later, Wooyoung was feeling both irritated and bored. He had continued his attempts to reach Mark without fruition, and none of the guys coming out from the elevators so far were him. He was still sitting on a lobby sofa, angrily scrolling through his camera roll as someone sat next to him, trying to strike up a conversation that Wooyoung again understood nothing of.<br/>
“Look dude, I’m not in the mood so just speak English or get lost,” he sighed, turning his head to look at a man whose smile made his already feline appearance even more prominent. He was even able to pull off a purple leopard-print shirt without it looking hideous. Wooyoung wanted to scream, it really wasn’t fair how every guy he had seen this far had been so stupidly attractive.<br/>
“I’m sorry,” the man nodded, speaking with a surprisingly good English pronunciation, “I just saw your appearance and assumed you were Korean.”<br/>
“Maybe genetically, but I’m American,” Wooyoung turned away to continue his supervision of the elevators, as the man scooted a little closer.<br/>
“It’s just... forgive me for intruding but I saw you sitting here with that sad expression on your face and I couldn’t help asking myself why someone as beautiful as yourself would be that sad.”<br/>
Wooyoung sighed.<br/>
“Have you got an hour?”<br/>
“Actually… always,” the man scooted even closer, resting a hand on Wooyoung’s knee. “Let me help you forget what made you sad in the first place.”<br/>
“Can I ask you something?” Wooyoung said while gently removing the man’s hand.<br/>
“Of course.”<br/>
“Do you… think you could pee with someone standing behind you?”<br/>
The man looked surprised for a split second.<br/>
“It’s not something I’ve ever thought of but I think I could?” He then leaned in closer and added in a whisper, “Would you be that someone?”<br/>
“What?! NO. That’s not what I meant!”<br/>
“So… would you like me to arrange someone else watching? I’m sure that could be done too,” the guy said, ignoring Wooyoung’s shocked, borderline disgusted expression. “Oh, you have the face of an angel but I’m so glad to find you have the mind of a devil.”<br/>
“Alright, that’s it!” Wooyoung exclaimed, getting up on his feet, blushing out of anger and embarrassment. “This won’t be getting you anywhere and I don’t want to know any of your disgusting kinks -”<br/>
“Let me remind you that you asked me first,” the man chuckled.<br/>
“That is beside the point! I’m not just sitting here looking for some hook up, I’m waiting for my fiancé, and I doubt he’d - hey, I’m talking to you!”<br/>
As if some random guy coming on to Wooyoung wasn’t enough, now he was ignoring him for something going on behind Wooyoung's back, looking impressed while letting out a soft whistle. Wooyoung really didn’t feel like knowing what could have impressed THIS person, but curiosity got the better of him and he turned around.</p><p>At which point he was slapped in the face with the sight of Mark, making out with some platinum blonde, long-haired guy in front of the elevators without a fucking care in the world.<br/>
Wooyoung could only helplessly look on at what was going on in front of him and then, he just fainted.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>please leave a comment and/or kudos if you liked the chapter! 🥺</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter Three.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Wooyoung? Hey, wake up!”<br/>“...Mark?”</p><p>Wooyoung hopefully opened his eyes, finding dark brown eyes, framed by black eyebrows where he now clearly could see the silver piercing in one of them, staring right back at him.<br/>“Oh. It’s <i>you</i>,” he sighed.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>as a reminder, some important notes for this chapter and upcoming ones:<br/>- as mentioned in chapter two, whenever the pov switches between seonghwa and wooyoung it will be marked by a "***"<br/>- whenever the pov is seonghwa's and the dialogue is in italics, that means they're speaking korean.</p><p>also CW for cursing and minor violence?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>
</p><p>“Wooyoung? Hey, wake up!”<br/>
“...Mark?”</p><p>Wooyoung hopefully opened his eyes, finding dark brown eyes, framed by black eyebrows where he now clearly could see the silver piercing in one of them, staring right back at him.<br/>
“Oh. It’s <em>you</em>,” he sighed, disappointed, contemplating for a second to just close his eyes and maybe next time he opened them it would be Mark instead… but instead Seonghwa just chuckled and started pulling him up from the floor, gesturing to the others that have flocked around them.<br/>
“It’s okay, he’s fine, you can go - it’s just jetlag.”<br/>
“Where are we?” Wooyoung groaned as Seonghwa made him sit down on the sofa. Meanwhile he simply stayed kneeling in front of him, grabbing a water bottle a hotel guest brought over before uncapping it and handing it to Wooyoung.<br/>
“We’re at your hotel. Just sit there and I’ll go ask the hotel staff to take you to your room.”<br/>
“I don’t have a room,” Wooyoung mumbled before taking a sip.<br/>
“What?”<br/>
“I said I don’t have a room. Someone has stolen my room - some stupid guy with stupidly nice-looking hair and OH MY GOD. My bags!” </p><p>Wooyoung’s gaze had slowly drifted to the right and the water bottle dropped during his exclamation.<br/>
“What?” Seonghwa looked confused, throwing a quick glance over at the empty spot Wooyoung was staring at.<br/>
“My bags! My bags are gone!”<br/>
“They can’t be gone, what do you mean they’re gone?!” He watched Seonghwa suddenly drop to the ground, staring underneath the sofa before flying back up and sticking his hands in between the cushions.<br/>
“Why the hell are you looking there for, it’s my BAGS, not my damn car keys!” Wooyoung shouted, tearing at his hair as he had a sudden realisation, feeling every pocket on his jacket. “It’s all gone! My phone, my passport, my wallet - everything!”<br/>
Seonghwa walked over to Wooyoung, grabbing his right arm and slightly bending down to be on eye-level.<br/>
“Where did you put them down? Maybe you put them somewhere else and forgot?”<br/>
Wooyoung shook his head, feeling closer to utterly freaking out by every second passing.
“No, I put them right there!”</p><p>By this point Hakyeon, the concierge Wooyoung had talked to earlier, came up to them, clearly due to the commotion he and Seonghwa were causing.<br/>
“May I be of service?” he asked, looking between the two of them as Seonghwa passed Wooyoung, saying something in Korean. Hakyeon’s brows furrowed and he shook his head before replying - something Seonghwa clearly didn’t like as he took a step closer to Hakyeon with clenched fists, spitting out every word of the next sentence. Wooyoung was still freaking out but now also confused, even though he was kind of grateful he had someone who was able to chew out the rude concierge, even though it didn’t last long as Seonghwa soon turned around to look at Wooyoung.<br/>
“How could you let this happen?!” he shouted as Wooyoung jumped, not expecting to be shouted at and it left him feeling very offended.<br/>
“What’s your problem, dude? They’re MY bags!”<br/>
He glared defiantly at Seonghwa, who closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening his eyes again and nodding.<br/>
“You’re right, I’m sorry,” he sighed. “I shouldn’t have shouted at you. Do you remember anything from before you fainted?”<br/>
“Well, I was sitting right there,” Wooyoung gestured towards the sofa, “then some guy came and talked to me and said… nevermind what he said, but then I saw Mark and I just -”<br/>
Wooyoung could feel his lower lip starting to tremble at the memory, causing Seonghwa to look slightly panicked.</p><p>“Okay uh, let’s just… sit down” he said, leading Wooyoung over to the sofa again, waving his arms in front of his chest. “Breathe in, breathe out.”<br/>
“I AM breathing,” Wooyoung exclaimed, shaking his head. “You know what? This might be hypocritical of me but men are fucking bastards.”<br/>
“Some are just trying to help?” Seonghwa offered, making Wooyoung shake his head even harder.
“No, it’s true, all men are bastards.”<br/>
“Uh, so the guy you mentioned talking to…”<br/>
“A bastard.”<br/>
“Was he wearing a… a blazer? Purple shirt?”<br/>
“...with a leopard-print, yeah, why?” Wooyoung squinted as Seonghwa cursed under his breath. “Do you know him?”<br/>
“Come on, we’ve got to go.”<br/>
“Of course you know him, all you bastards know each other!”<br/>
Seonghwa started pulling Wooyoung to his feet again, dragging him along through the lobby towards the main entrance - past a Hakyeon who now looked more confused than smug. Wooyoung burrowed his eyes into him, leaning close while they were walking past him.<br/>
“Bastard.”<br/>
Seonghwa just smiled apologetically before pulling Wooyoung along once again, not stopping until they were outside.<br/>
“Alright, you just wait here. I’ll go get a… my car, and then we’ll go get your stuff back, okay?”<br/>
Wooyoung nodded, watching Seonghwa take off towards the parked cars in the parking lot. Seonghwa might have been a rude ass when they first met, but at this point Wooyoung honestly didn’t know what he would be doing without him, after having lost basically everything within an hour.</p><p><br/>
</p><p>***</p><p><br/>
</p><p>Seonghwa was just about ready to scream and pull his hair out right there in the parking lot as he tried to find a car suitable enough.<br/>
Shit. Shit shit SHIT. Out of everything that could have happened, Wooyoung had to faint and have all his stuff stolen - including the smuggled goods Seonghwa so carefully had placed in his bags earlier. It was pure dumb luck he had encountered San as he was leaving the hotel, or he wouldn’t have been  able to figure out the thief’s identity as quick as he had.<br/>
He wanted to say he was just helping out of pure goodness of his heart but getting that necklace back came before anything else - even getting Wooyoung’s things back.</p><p>Thankfully he found an older car, parked at the other end of the parking lot. Once again he slowly took a careful look around, making sure no one was watching as he fished out a thin strip of metal from inside the lining of his leather jacket. He managed to pick the lock within seconds, and opened the door only to get the alarm going off - cursing under his breath he quickly jumped in, leaning underneath the steering wheel and setting off to hotwire the car as quickly as possible before the alarm caused more unwanted attention.<br/>
Once he had succeeded, and the alarm had gone quiet, he leaned back in the seat, pulling a hand through his hair while letting out a deep sigh.<br/>
<em>The things you end up doing for money sometimes</em>, he thought to himself and chuckled, then reversed out of the parking space before driving up to the entrance and getting Wooyoung.</p><p><br/>
</p><p>***</p><p><br/>
</p><p>After driving through the streets of Seoul for about 10 minutes in silence, Wooyoung couldn’t help his curiosity any longer.<br/>
“So… this guy who stole my bags.”<br/>
“His name is San, “ Seonghwa said, glancing over his shoulder before shifting lanes. “He usually works the metro, at least he did when I last met him. Seems like he’s moved up to hotels now.”<br/>
“And you know where he lives?” Wooyoung turned in his seat to look at Seonghwa, who simply nodded. “Alright. Then here’s the next question.”<br/>
“Mhm?”<br/>
“Why are you helping me?”<br/>
“Why? Uh... “ Seonghwa stalled as he focused on making a left turn. “Because I like you.”<br/>
Wooyoung just squinted at Seonghwa, who glanced at him before he continued.<br/>
“No, I do! But this is also my country and I’m ashamed of what happened to you.”<br/>
Wooyoung still had a hard time believing him, but couldn’t be bothered pressing the other further and decided to just let it go.<br/>
“Sure you do,” he just mumbled.</p><p>Once again they drove in silence for a moment, before Seonghwa cleared his throat.<br/>
“So… You came here to meet your fiancé, but found out he’s cheating on you?”<br/>
Wooyoung sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.<br/>
“Yes and no. He had a business trip, we were supposed to go together but I was too scared of flying to end up going. He called me a couple days later saying he’d met some ‘god of a man’,” Wooyoung said while making air quotes, and as he glanced at Seonghwa he saw a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, “and that he wasn’t coming back. So, I found the first available flight, got on it… and well. You know the rest.”<br/>
Seonghwa furrowed his brows, focusing on traffic for a moment before taking a quick look at Wooyoung.<br/>
“So - he calls you to say he’s met someone else, he breaks your heart, he uh… humiliates you? And you come to Seoul so he can do it again - but this time right to your face?”<br/>
“No, I -” Wooyoung started as the car alarm went off, causing Seonghwa to kick the panel underneath the steering wheel. Probably sensing the stare Wooyoung was giving him, he just smiled.<br/>
“Sorry about that - you were saying?”<br/>
“I came to Seoul to get back the man that I love, is that so hard to understand for someone like you?” Wooyoung snapped.<br/>
“Okay, and meanwhile his lover is -”<br/>
“Don’t ever,” Wooyoung spoke between gritted teeth, pointing at Seonghwa, “use that word again.”<br/>
“Okay, this... bastard, he might be feeling something else?”<br/>
“Look - once Mark saw me, myself, everything would change and go back to normal.”<br/>
Seonghwa snorted, and Wooyoung felt so close to reaching over and strangling him.</p><p>“What, you don’t think I could change his mind? We had a great life together and I would remind him of that.”<br/>
“Yeah, evidently you did,” Seonghwa snorted, clearly not bothered by the daggers Wooyoung’s gaze was shooting his way.<br/>
“I’ve never been so happy in my entire life as I was with him,” Wooyoung said with a pout as Seonghwa scoffed. “We had plans! We were planning a home, possibly even a family at some point -”<br/>
“He was obviously very attached to those plans,” Seonghwa mumbled.<br/>
“And if all else failed…”<br/>
“You’d get on your knees and beg?”<br/>
“I might,” Wooyoung shrugged.<br/>
Seonghwa started laughing again.<br/>
“Oh I can see it - there's Adonis himself, standing next to Mark in a silk robe, while you’re on your knees begging. Poor guy, what a tough decision.”</p><p>Seonghwa suddenly swerved to the right, taking the car partially up the sidewalk causing a few pedestrians to shout out in surprise and anger - at least it sounded that way to Wooyoung.<br/>
“I didn’t beg,” he countered in a low voice as Seonghwa switched the gear into neutral and pulled the hand brake.<br/>
“No,” he said, leaning into Wooyoung’s personal space while looking him straight in the eyes. “You fainted.”<br/>
Wooyoung, stunned in embarrassment once more, watched Seonghwa get out of the car and approach a guy with blonde, longer hair on the corner of the street.<br/>
“Seonghwa!” the guy said, holding out his arms.<br/>
“Yeosang,” Seonghwa laughed in response, giving him a quick hug before they fell into a conversation Wooyoung couldn’t hear - and he bet even if he could hear he wouldn’t understand. He saw the guy laugh shyly, covering his mouth with his hand as Seonghwa took hold of his shoulder and leaned in to place a quick kiss on his forehead -  saying something that Yeosang only nodded in response to, still smiling. Then Seonghwa turned around, gesturing to Wooyoung to get out of the car, and as he walked up to Seonghwa he pointed over his shoulder to a  shabby-looking apartment block down the street.<br/>
“I just confirmed San should be home,” Seonghwa said, turning and walking before Wooyoung even had a chance to open his mouth.</p><p>“So, who was that?” he eventually said as he caught up to Seonghwa who was basically speed walking.<br/>
“Oh, he’s a friend of mine.”<br/>
“Ah. I just thought that with the way you acted he might have been someone special, like someone you were seeing.”<br/>
“Please, I’m finished with men - women too, for that matter,” Seonghwa scoffed.<br/>
“Haven’t found the right one?”<br/>
Seonghwa glanced over his shoulder at Wooyoung, rolling his eyes.<br/>
“I have found plenty, believe me.”<br/>
“So you’re afraid of commitment,” Wooyoung smirked.<br/>
“I’m not afraid of anything.”<br/>
“No, I know what your problem is. You have no staying power.”<br/>
Seonghwa froze, turning around and staring at Wooyoung with wide eyes.<br/>
“What?”<br/>
“You can’t stick it out!”<br/>
“What are you talking about?”<br/>
“It’s obvious!”<br/>
“...It is?!” Seonghwa exclaimed, looking more fearful with every passing second.<br/>
“You are afraid of commitment!” Wooyoung said again, watching Seonghwa taking it in for a moment before relief washed over his face.<br/>
“Commitment! Oh, okay, I’m sorry I… thought you meant something else,” he mumbled and turned to walk again, but Wooyoung grabbed the sleeve of his jacket.<br/>
“Wait, what did you think I meant?”<br/>
“Nothing, nothing, it’s okay,” Seonghwa waved his hand dismissively as it hit Wooyoung.<br/>
“OH. <em>This</em> problem,” he said, finally understanding as he held up his pointer finger and slowly bending it to insinuate what he was talking about.</p><p>“It’s not a problem!” Seonghwa exclaimed in a hushed voice while leaning in close, pulling off Wooyoung’s hand that was still clutching his sleeve, which wasn’t too difficult as Wooyoung was still stunned by the revelation, then started walking.<br/>
“You? Really? It’s not like erectile dysfunction is bad, every man goes through something like that at least once in their life!” Wooyoung eventually spoke up as he yet again rushed to catch up with Seonghwa. “Usually it’s just some kind of self-esteem issue.”<br/>
Seonghwa huffed.<br/>
“It’s not self-esteem issues. It’s just a very recent phenomenon, okay? I’ve been under a lot of pressure, but soon it will all be over and then BAM,” Seonghwa said, clapping his hands together, “I’m back in business. Okay?”<br/>
Wooyoung was still trying to come up with something to say, Seonghwa looking at him with an expression that made it seem he’d jump Wooyoung if he made fun of what the other was going through. But, when nothing came he just nodded to himself and continued walking towards the building where San’s apartment supposedly was, Wooyoung half-walking, half-running to keep up with the pace.</p><p>As Wooyoung followed Seonghwa into the building, up the stairs and then the hallway he had to confess he was surprised at how well Seonghwa knew the way - never once did he stop to think about which way to go. He was about to ask how, since when he had asked about this… San, earlier, it didn’t seem like they had been close at all, but Seonghwa suddenly stopped, causing Wooyoung to bump into him.<br/>
“Okay, this is where he lives,” Seonghwa said, while pointing at one of the doors in the hallway that was even shabbier than anything the outside of the building could have prepared Wooyoung for. “Let’s see if he’s home.”<br/>
Fully expecting him to knock, like you know, a normal human would, Wooyoung just nodded before jumping back in shock as Seonghwa braced himself and kicked in the door. Adjusting his leather jacket, he smiled at Wooyoung before stepping inside with a borderline murderous expression, Wooyoung slowly following him with his mouth open in surprise.</p><p>He heard Seonghwa say something in Korean again, and the word San, so he peeked out behind the others taller frame and finally got a clear view of the man from the hotel lobby who now seemed to be wearing sweatpants and a very loose-fitting tank top instead of the stylish ensemble from earlier.<br/>
San was just sitting there, on the middle of his apartment floor next to a low table, clearly having been in the process of taking another bite of his bowl of ramyun but now just gaping like a fish on dry land.<br/>
“Remember Wooyoung?”<br/>
He didn’t even need to see Seonghwa’s face to know he was speaking through gritted teeth, and San raised the hand holding chopsticks, giving Wooyoung an awkward wave.<br/>
“Hello again,” San tried to smile, flinching when Seonghwa suddenly walked past him to a corner of the room, picking up something that Wooyoung registered as his backpack.<br/>
“Hey, that’s mine!”<br/>
Seonghwa gave no indication of hearing, instead opening and looking through it.</p><p>“Where is the rest?” he said, glaring at San before throwing the backpack on the floor, walking over to a wardrobe and ripping the doors open. Wooyoung rushed over to his backpack, only to discover it being empty.<br/>
“Wh- what about my money? My phone, passport?”<br/>
“You can forget about those,” Seonghwa replied, tearing clothes out of the wardrobe and looking through boxes. “He sold the phone and passport the first chance he got.”<br/>
“And my suitcase? Where are my clothes?”<br/>
Seonghwa sighed, pausing the mess he was making to glare at San again. San was still just dumbfoundedly looking in between the two of them, but as soon as he caught the way Seonghwa was looking at him he quickly stuttered out something.<br/>
“What? What did he say?”<br/>
Seonghwa repeated what San had said, the glare replaced by eyes widened in surprise before San nodded.<br/>
“Uh, he… He threw them away,” Seonghwa glanced at Wooyoung before tearing out yet another shelf full of clothes.<br/>
Wooyoung dropped his backpack.<br/>
“Oh god,” he whispered, the realisation fully hitting him - he had nothing. He could see San throwing him a worried look as he started trembling and his breathing turned more shallow. It looked like the other was about to get up and approach him when Seonghwa slammed the box he had been holding on the floor, going over to San and grabbing the neckline of his tank top. He spat out something else in Korean, to which San quickly pointed in the direction of one of the grimy windows as he stuttered out something in reply.<br/>
Seonghwa let him go, walked over to the window and Wooyoung watched him take… some kind of plant from the outside as he let out a huge sigh of relief.</p><p>“I can’t fucking believe you hid a plant in my bag,” Wooyoung spat over his shoulder, walking as fast as he could to get away from the other man who now tried to keep up with him.<br/>
“It’s not just a plant, it’s a vine.”<br/>
“You know I don’t really give a rat’s ass what it is - you used me!” he said, turning around while furiously staring at Seonghwa. “You don’t give a shit about me, you only helped me so you could get THAT back!”<br/>
“Look, I’m sorry you lost all your stuff but I wasn’t the one who stole it.”<br/>
Oh, Wooyoung really felt like punching him in that handsome face of his.<br/>
“Did you even think about what could have happened if they stopped me at customs?”<br/>
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Seonghwa scoffed. “They don’t check people like you.”<br/>
“People like me?”<br/>
“People who look sweet and innocent. Why do you think I chose you?”<br/>
Why Wooyoung’s brain suddenly decided to focus on the fact that Seonghwa had called him ‘sweet’, he didn’t know, but he hated it and shook his head to make it stop.<br/>
“Everything with you is just bullshit! What am I supposed to do now? My phone is gone, I have no passport, my wallet is still here but basically fucking picked clean - I have nothing to get me back home,” Wooyoung shouted, feeling tears rise to his eyes. “I’m stuck here in a country I don’t know and don’t understand.”</p><p>Seonghwa sighed again, a glimmer of remorse passing over his features.<br/>
“Okay, look,” he said, reaching into a pocket on his leather jacket and taking out a small wad of money, holding them out to Wooyoung. “Take this.”<br/>
“No, I don’t want anything from you, least of all your money.”<br/>
“No, but this is yours, it’s what San got for all your stuff when he sold it. Please take it.”<br/>
Wooyoung grabbed the money, then threw it right into Seonghwa’s face.<br/>
“I. Don’t. Want. It!” he spoke slowly, jabbing his finger into Seonghwa’s chest with each word. “Now GO, I never want to see your face again!”<br/>
Walking quickly, trying to ignore the hot burn of tears in his eyes, he waited until he passed a street corner before he stopped, leaning against the wall and taking a shuddering breath in the  hopes of calming down. He slowly leaned back out, checking to see if Seonghwa was still standing there - but he had walked off, the money still on the ground where it had landed after Wooyoung threw it at him.<br/>
He quickly ran back, picked up every won he could find, and then kept walking again. He could cry all he wanted later. For now he needed to figure out how to even begin attempting to get back home.</p><p><br/>
</p><p>***</p><p><br/>
</p><p>Seonghwa wanted to feel bad for what he had done - and well, part of him did. The promise he had made with himself all those years ago weighed even heavier on him than a guilty conscience ever could however.<br/>
He walked until he was little more than a block away, taking shelter in a small park as he started unwrapping the fabric covering the grapevine. He needed to be sure it was still there, his heart beating faster the more fabric he pulled off… and the necklace nowhere to be seen.<br/>
“<em>For fuck’s sake, San</em>,” he cursed out loud, hastily throwing the fabric wrapping back on before taking off sprinting back the way he came.</p><p>He reached San’s apartment just minutes later, bursting in through the door again and San quickly got to his feet attempting to back away as Seonghwa grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the nearest wall.<br/>
“<em>Where is it?!</em>” he shouted, as San tried to break free.<br/>
“<em>Where is what? I have no idea what you’re talking about,</em>” he whined, trying to pull Seonghwa’s hand off his neck. Seonghwa responded by pulling him off the wall and slamming him back into it.<br/>
“<em>The fucking necklace I kept hidden with the plant!</em>”<br/>
“<em>I don’t know anything about that,</em>” San choked. “<em>I never saw a necklace. It must have fallen out into his backpack or something.</em>”<br/>
“<em>His backpack?</em>” Seonghwa was stunned enough to let his grip around San’s neck loosen enough for him to break free, quickly stumbling away and locking himself into the bathroom, leaving Seonghwa behind to tear at his hair in frustration.</p><p>Well. He needed to find Wooyoung again and there was no way things would be as easy. Seonghwa wasn’t even sure where he would find the other this time around.<br/>
“<em>Fuck,</em>” he muttered to himself as he left San’s apartment for the second time.<br/>
“<em>Fucking shit.</em>”</p><p><br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>if you liked the chapter, please leave kudos - or even better, a comment as they brighten my days a LOT! (something very much needed atm as i'm being buried in work from uni lol)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter Four.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Okay. I let you come with me, but I really need to know. Why should I believe you this time?”</p><p>“Because I have no reason to lie now, “ Seonghwa said as he stirred the ramyun with his chopsticks. “Do I look like the kind of guy who - “<br/>“You,” Wooyoung squinted, “look like the kind of guy who steals airplane liquor bottles, who promises to give someone a ride and then steals a car to be able to give it after failing the first time - YOU look like the kind of guy who hides a PLANT in another person’s bag?!”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>as a reminder, some important notes for this chapter and upcoming ones:<br/>- as mentioned in chapter two, whenever the pov switches between seonghwa and wooyoung it will be marked by a "***"<br/>- whenever the pov is seonghwa's and the dialogue is in italics, that means they're speaking korean.</p><p> </p><p>CW:<br/>general cursing, AND towards the end of the chapter,  one of the characters - while HE is sleeping - kisses someone who's awake. i figured it was safer to give a heads up in case anyone would be uncomfortable!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>
</p><p>The next day, Wooyoung couldn’t say he felt his chances had improved much. </p><p>Sure, he had eventually managed to find a police station and got a report done for his stolen passport, including a copy. (Not that he could be 100 percent certain everything in it was accurate, the communication with the officer had been… very limited, to say the least.) By the time he had managed to find the U.S. Embassy it had already closed, and in his frustration he had simply decided to wait outside all night. </p><p>It wasn’t comfortable, and he barely got any sleep - but when the embassy opened the next morning he was among the first in line, and even though nothing about the procedure had been easy in the slightest, he was able to walk out  an emergency passport in the end.<br/>
His issue now was that the passport had taken a lot of the money he had. There was no way he could even afford a plane ticket at this rate unless he was able to meet Mark and convince him to come back home and go back to the life they had been living - and even though he hated to even think that way, if Mark didn’t go back with him... he would just have to try his best contacting someone from home to get help.</p><p>Which put him here, just wandering the streets of Seoul, trying to make up his mind whether he wanted to put some of the only money he had left towards a taxi back to the hotel, or if he should just attempt asking for help and walk all the way. He hated to admit it, but right now he kind of wished he hadn’t pushed Seonghwa away the day before - it was so much easier having someone around that knew the language and the city.<br/>
He suddenly heard a familiar laugh from a coffee shop on his left, freezing in his step as he turned towards it’s doors, opened to let the warm may breeze in. He quickly scanned the small crowd sitting by all the tables attempting to confirm his suspicion, until he saw what he was looking for.</p><p>He might have had his back turned against Wooyoung, but after so many years of dating and being engaged he was sure - that was Mark, and sitting opposite him Wooyoung figured it was the same blonde guy Mark had been making out with in the hotel lobby yesterday. Well, that one and this guy had the same kind of hair, so… it was probably the same guy. That stupidly long and blond hair, and on top of that he had a stupid shy smile and stupidly nice eyes that gazed at Mark with an expression Wooyoung was sure he himself had worn at some point. It was a shame Wooyoung felt inclined to hate the guy, because he looked like he was a genuinely good person.<br/>
He shook his head, mumbling to himself to get a grip. This was his chance, after all! He didn’t even need to find the hotel now, he could just walk into the coffee shop and sit down and talk to Mark and… well, beg if he had to.</p><p>He had just taken a step forward when the blond reached out to fix a stray piece of Mark’s hair, and Wooyoung froze again. Was he just imagining something gleaming on the guy’s ring finger? He was about to convince himself that he had, when Mark took the guys hand, gently stroked what Wooyoung now clearly could see <em>was</em> a ring on the ring finger, before lifting it up to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on the blondes hand.</p><p>
<em>That absolute fucking ass</em>, Wooyoung thought, feeling hot tears rising to his eyes as he turned and walked away. He definitely didn’t feel like facing the realisation that Mark had <em>already</em> proposed to another guy. Someone he had met just barely a week prior on top of everything, when it had taken him 4 years of dating to even propose to Wooyoung in the first place. It hurt, it really fucking hurt, and Wooyoung wanted to be as far away from the two of them as possible.</p><p>
An hour later, Wooyoung had managed to reach what he could only assume was the Han river, collapsing onto the grassy area in the riverside park, appreciating the breeze cooling him down after walking in the sun for so long. He pulled off his backpack, reached into it and pulled out a bottle of water he had luckily remembered to buy at a 7-Eleven earlier the same day, downing half of it in one go, before replacing the cap and falling back to lie on the grass. Watching the clouds pass by, Wooyoung tried to get his thoughts and emotions in order - he really wasn’t sure what to do now.</p><p>
He had gotten on that plane with the sole purpose of getting Mark back, and he still very much wanted to - but that was before he realised just how serious Mark had been about this new guy. He had honestly thought it would have just been some lapse in judgement, but so serious he actually proposed?<br/>
Wooyoung lifted his own left hand up in front of his face to look at his own ring. Part of him wanted to tear it off and throw it into the Han… but he didn’t.</p><p>
He had never been one to give up before. Not when his adoptive parents kicked him out, not when his dance studio wasn’t doing well and he had buyers ready to take it off his hands with a minute's notice, and he certainly wasn’t going to give up now. At <em>least</em> of all now. Mark was the love of his life and he would fight for it. To hell with the new engagement, he wasn’t stopping until Mark got back on that plane home with him.<br/>
Wooyoung sat back up and took in the scenery in front of him, a small but determined smile now on his face. Time to try and find the way back to the hotel.</p><p>It took some time, a lot of asking for help (that wasn’t as successful each time he tried, depending on how good the other person's English had been)… not to mention a pair of extremely aching feet - but when Wooyoung stepped inside the hotel lobby he was now more determined than ever, walking up to the front desk and seeing the same concierge, Hakyeon, from yesterday manning it.<br/>
Despite him having his eyes set on Wooyoung the entire time, Wooyoung still reached out and rang the bell for attention, causing the taller man to sigh and reach out to silence it.<br/>
“Hi there,” Wooyoung smiled innocently. “It’s me again.”<br/>
“Welcome back  to Hotel Shilla, sir,” Hakyeon replied with a smile and slight tilt of his head, and Wooyoung couldn’t resist a chuckle.</p><p>
“It’s incredible the way you manage to do that. You smile and say ‘welcome back’, but the meaning is completely different. Is that something all concierges do or just you?”<br/>
Wooyoung saw Hakyeon's jaw clench slightly.<br/>
“Whatever you wish, sir.”<br/>
“You did it again,” Wooyoung smiled, pointing at Hakyeon before leaning his arms on the reception desk. “Tell me something, do you enjoy being this rude and unpleasant? Because you know, when you do that it just gets underneath my skin, and it makes me completely INSANE!”<br/>
Wooyoung, who had been raising the tone of his voice with every last word until he was shouting, started repeatedly ringing the bell, hearing shocked murmurs from other hotel guests all around him.</p><p>
Hakyeon had clearly not expected an outburst like this as his eyes widened in surprise, quickly blocking the bell with his hand.<br/>
“Thank you for the lesson in our… uh. Cultural differences,” he said, throwing worried glances at the other guests who were still looking at the two of them and whispering. “I’m sure it won’t betray any duties now to tell you that your fiancé and his friend aren’t our guests anymore as they checked out earlier today.”<br/>
Wooyoung tried to not let the surprise show on his face.<br/>
“Any idea whose guests they’re going to be now?” he asked, praying for them to actually have gone to another hotel and not… staying at the other guy’s place or something. When Hakyeon seemed reluctant to answer Wooyoung raised his hand and hovered over the bell again, making the other quickly grab it and hold it against his chest.<br/>
“The Astar Hotel will have that honor when they arrive in Jeju this evening,” Hakyeon blurted out. “If you’d like to catch a bus from Seoul tonight, I could very quickly organise a taxi for you to get to the bus terminal.”<br/>
Wooyoung smiled and nodded.<br/>
“I would like that very much actually. Thank you.”</p><p>
Hakyeon reached out for the phone, slowly replacing the bell while eyeing Wooyoung carefully as he started speaking in Korean to someone on the other end.<br/>
“The taxi will be here shortly, if you’d like to wait outside,” Hakyeon eventually said as he hung up, seemingly very glad to finally be getting rid of Wooyoung.<br/>
“Cheers,” Wooyoung said, adjusting the backpack only to turn around and walk right into someone else. Stepping back to apologise, his face fell when he realised who it was.</p><p>“Seonghwa!”<br/>
The man in question scratched the back of his neck, giving Wooyoung an apologetic smile when he saw the glare shot his way.<br/>
“I came to make peace with you,” he said, Wooyoung just rolling his eyes and walking past him towards the exit. “So, uh… still going after Mark then? That’s incredible, I admire your persistence.”<br/>
Wooyoung could hear Seonghwa following, but even though he had kind of missed the other earlier he was still pissed at being used so he didn’t say a word. Maybe if he ignored him enough he’d go away? The other didn’t seem to take the hint though as he started walking next to Wooyoung, slowly reaching out for the shoulder strap of his bag.<br/>
“Maybe I could help you with that?”<br/>
Wooyoung slapped his hand away just as they reached the doors outside and he cursed on the inside when he realised the taxi hadn’t arrived yet, knowing it meant Seonghwa was free to pester him until it actually arrived.</p><p>
“I’m feeling some very strange emotions for me,” the other continued as Wooyoung still tried to not actually look at him. “Guilt, remorse - and I tried to think of what I could possibly do to show that I’m sorry, so -”<br/>
“Shut up,” Wooyoung finally snapped, turning to glare at Seonghwa. “You haven’t spent a single second with me without being after something else so why should I trust you this time?”<br/>
“I know I’ve used you,” Seonghwa said with a sigh. “But I want to make it up to you. You were going to Jeju right? I can help you get there, translate for you every step of the way if need be. You’ve helped me with the vine and I left you with nothing.”<br/>
While Seonghwa’s offer was really tempting, Wooyoung still wasn’t sure if it was worth it and he still didn’t trust the other.<br/>
“I don’t think -” he started saying just as the taxi pulled up. With a sigh, he reached for the door as he looked at the other. “Goodbye, Seonghwa.”</p><p>
He climbed into the backseat and closed the door behind him, seeing the man on the outside pull a hand through his hair with an exasperated look. Wooyoung was just about to tell the taxi driver to leave when Seonghwa rushed forward and opened the door.<br/>
“Please, Wooyoung,” he begged. “I’ll even pay for everything if you let me help.”<br/>
Wooyoung sat in silence for a second, the taxi driver throwing a look at him through the rearview mirror, as if he was asking him to hurry up.<br/>
“...get in,” Wooyoung eventually mumbled.<br/>
“I swear, I’ll do - what?”<br/>
“Get in before I change my mind.”</p><p>They didn’t say another word to each other during the whole drive to the bus terminal. True to his word, Seonghwa paid for the taxi and then the bus tickets for the two of them.<br/>
“There’s still an hour before our bus leaves,” Seonghwa said, returning with the tickets and handing one to Wooyoung. “Are you hungry?”<br/>
Wooyoung, feeling his stomach rumble at just the slightest mention of food, nodded as he placed the bus ticket in his wallet. Seonghwa just smiled and gestured for him to follow, leading him to a convenience store - which wasn’t exactly what Wooyoung had been expecting. He thought Seonghwa would take him to some kind of fast food place, not a… GS25? </p><p>
Inside, he was taken to the ramyun shelf straight away, eventually picking out a seafood-flavored option with Seonghwa’s guidance. After Seonghwa picked his own, and then paid, he helped Wooyoung work the machines to cook the ramyun, and they could finally sit down and eat by one of the tables in a corner of the store.<br/>
For a moment they ate in silence, and then Wooyoung couldn’t help himself anymore.<br/>
“Okay. I let you come with me, but I really need to know. Why should I believe you this time?”</p><p>
“Because I have no reason to lie now, “ Seonghwa said as he stirred the ramyun with his chopsticks. “Do I look like the kind of guy who - “<br/>
“You,” Wooyoung squinted, “look like the kind of guy who steals airplane liquor bottles, who promises to give someone a ride and then steals a car to be able to give it after failing the first time - YOU look like the kind of guy who hides a PLANT in another person’s bag?!”<br/>
“Okay, okay, I get the picture. But I am changing, and you’re going to need help with Mark.”<br/>
“I’m sure I can manage just fine on my own, thanks,” Wooyoung scoffed, making Seonghwa put down his chopsticks and cross his arms.</p><p>
“Oh yeah? Do you have a plan for when you see him? Still nothing? You’re going into battle with no strategy, no armor, no - no bullshit?”<br/>
“I won’t need bullshit to get him back,” Wooyoung said but he knew he didn’t sound entirely convinced himself. Seonghwa was right. He had determination, but absolutely no idea how to actually do it.<br/>
“Even just a little bit might be handy,” Seonghwa said, letting his crossed arms rest on the edge of the table. “For me bullshit is almost as easy as breathing, I will help.”<br/>
Wooyoung sighed.<br/>
“I don’t know why I’m agreeing to this, but fine, do whatever you want.”<br/>
Seonghwa smiled.<br/>
“You won’t regret it.”<br/>
“I better not,” Wooyoung mumbled, and they both went back to their ramyun, eating the rest of it in silence.</p><p>After they finished eating they went back to the gate from where their bus was supposed to leave, got on and now they were going down some highway taking them away from Seoul, watching the sun set in the distance.</p><p>
Seonghwa was busy checking something on his phone, and Wooyoung had pulled out his wallet to check what exactly had been left. His credit cards were obviously gone and for a second he was thankful he had been able to borrow a phone at the embassy to call his bank and cancel the cards. His driver’s license was also gone, not that he even knew what use there would be for something like that here in Korea. The only things left were a library card from college that he should have gotten rid of years ago, a stamp card for some coffee shop he was sure had expired, a handful of old receipts… and a photo of him and Mark from a date they went on last year to celebrate a year of being engaged. He sighed deeply, holding the photo in front of him.</p><p>
“Is that Mark?”<br/>
“Mhmm,” Wooyoung hummed as he turned, seeing Seonghwa look away from his phone with a curious expression. The other locked his phone, placed it back in one of his leather jackets pockets before leaning closer to Wooyoung.<br/>
“Can I see?”<br/>
“Sure,” Wooyoung nodded and angled the photo for Seonghwa to see better. He hummed thoughtfully, taking the photo but staying close to Wooyoung.<br/>
“How did you meet?”<br/>
“At a houseparty during my last year of college. He had already graduated, but had friends who wanted to go and ended up being pulled along. We had both gone to the kitchen for more drinks, and we just… started talking.”<br/>
Wooyoung couldn’t help but smile a little at the old memory.<br/>
“I just… had this feeling about him from the moment we met. He later told me he had felt the same. It wasn’t exactly fireworks, more like…”<br/>
“Sparklers?”</p><p>Wooyoung looked at Seonghwa, raising an eyebrow.<br/>
“Have you honestly never had that feeling about someone in your entire life?”<br/>
Seonghwa shrugged.<br/>
“Even if I had, it’s not something I would admit,” he said, taking a closer look at the photo.<br/>
“Why wouldn’t you?”<br/>
“Why should I? Look at where it got you,” Seonghwa said, throwing a quick glance Wooyoung’s way before turning his attention back to the photo.<br/>
“Well, maybe if you did you wouldn’t have that little <em>problem</em> I’m not supposed to talk about,” Wooyoung grinned, watching Seonghwa huff as his cheeks got a slight pinkish hue.<br/>
“It’s not a problem, it’s just temporary,” he mumbled, before adding in a normal tone, “there’s something in his eyes. Vain… that’s a word, right?”<br/>
“Yes. But his eyes are beautiful.”<br/>
“And he knows it too,” Seonghwa scoffed. “You can see it in his smile… no, not smile. Smirk.”<br/>
“Oh, shut up,” Wooyoung snapped, taking the photo back from Seonghwa and shoving it into the wallet.<br/>
“Why are you still chasing after him? After all he’s done to you?”<br/>
Wooyoung looked at Seonghwa, prepared to tell him to fuck off and that it was none of his business, but he wasn’t expecting to see genuine concern on the other’s face.<br/>
“Because,” he surprised himself by actually responding, “I love him. And I’m… afraid that if he doesn’t come back it will hurt so much that I won’t ever be able to love someone else again.”</p><p>
He chewed on his bottom lip, forcing himself to not cry again as he felt a gentle hand on his knee.<br/>
“You say that now,” Seonghwa said in a low voice, “but after some time you would forget. First, you would forget his chin, then his nose… and after a while you would struggle to remember the exact color of his eyes. One day you will wake up, and… he’ll be gone. His voice, his smell, his face - he will have left you. And then you can start over.”<br/>
Wooyoung was speechless. Whatever he had been expecting Seonghwa to say, that… was not it. And weirdly enough, it had helped. He ended up just shrugging in response, seeing Seonghwa give him an encouraging smile before he removed his hand from Wooyoung’s knee.<br/>
Wooyoung, wanting some way to escape, decided to try and sleep - while doing his best to ignore the phantom feeling Seonghwa’s hand had left behind.</p><p><br/>
</p><p>***</p><p><br/>
</p><p>As soon as Wooyoung seemed to want to sleep, Seonghwa knew this was his first and hopefully only shot he’d need to try and get the damn necklace back - provided it was actually still in that backpack. He had already tried once, thinking it would be easy since the backpack was literally sitting in Wooyoung’s lap - but he had stirred restlessly and hugged the backpack closer to his body as soon as Seonghwa had touched the zipper.<br/>
He decided to wait a little longer, pulling his phone back out and shooting off a message to Yunho. Now he was just playing some stupid game to pass time until he deemed it was safe enough to try again.</p><p>
The soft snores coming from the other male felt like good enough indication, so with a smile Seonghwa put away his phone again. There weren’t a lot of other passengers on the bus, and they were all fast asleep (he’d made sure to keep a lookout), so he just leaned closer to Wooyoung, slowly reaching out and opening the zipper. He stuck one hand into the backpack, the other hand gently easing up Wooyoung’s grip on the bag so he would actually be able to get to the bottom of the backpack - all while keeping his firm attention on Wooyoung’s face to make sure he wasn’t waking up. </p><p>He had just reached the bottom of the backpack and started to feel around, when Wooyoung suddenly made a small noise, causing Seonghwa to freeze, but getting no indication that he was actually waking up, Seonghwa continued… and then Wooyoung made another noise. And stirred restlessly as his face was pulled into a grimace.<br/>
<em>Shit</em>. Seonghwa quickly pulled his hand out of the backpack, because even if Wooyoung wasn’t necessarily waking up, he’d prefer to not risk being caught with half his arm down the damn backpack. For a second he felt relieved in his decision, but then Wooyoung kept stirring, making a more whiny noise this time… before he simply turned over to lean against Seonghwa, burrowing his face into Seonghwa’s neck.</p><p>
Now Seonghwa really didn’t know what to do - he had never been in a situation like this before, where he wasn’t in full control. He almost didn’t dare to breathe himself as he felt small puffs of Wooyoung’s hot breath against his neck.<br/>
He was just about to push Wooyoung away, to make him lean against the window again, when Wooyoung made another whiny noise and… </p><p>Was he kissing Seonghwa’s neck?<br/>
Yeah, that… that was definitely soft, warm lips moving against his skin. He tried to pull away as much as he could, but Wooyoung just whined in his sleep again as he reached up and put his hand on the back of Seonghwa’s neck.<br/>
<em>What the fuck is happening</em>, was all Seonghwa had time to think as Wooyoung shifted again, pulling Seonghwa down… and kissing him.</p><p>It was just a small kiss at first, Seonghwa still frozen in absolute shock as he felt the same soft lips move against his own.<br/>
“Mark…” Wooyoung suddenly whispered against Seonghwa’s lips, before going back to attack them with his own.<br/>
<em>Of course. Of fucking course he was dreaming</em>, Seonghwa thought, wanting to kick himself for somehow entertaining the thought that Wooyoung actually wanted to kiss him for a fleeting second.<br/>
He was just about to pull away again when he felt Wooyoung’s tongue prodding at his lips, and… he didn’t know what got over him. He just <em>couldn’t fucking pull away</em> despite knowing he should. Instead Seonghwa just... closed his eyes, raised a hand to cup Wooyoung’s cheek, thought “<em>fuck it</em>” and let himself kiss Wooyoung back while failing to stifle the soft moan rising in his throat.
</p><p>Good fucking god, Seonghwa quickly realised he had never experienced a kiss like this ever before in his life. It was sweet, yet warm and hot. Soft, yet passionate, and if he couldn’t stop himself before now he didn’t <em>want</em> to. He didn’t even know how long they ended up kissing - it could have been minutes, or just a couple of seconds - but when Wooyoung eventually pulled away with a pleased smile and small hum, only to turn and lean against the window again…</p><p>Seonghwa knew as he leaned back in his seat, breathing heavily, that this time he was absolutely <em>fucked</em>.</p><p><br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so much for reading!</p><p>....and once again i come before you as your humble servant (points to anyone who gets that reference), asking for comments and kudos if you enjoyed the chapter 🙏🏻🥺😂</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter Five.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>As if sensing Wooyoung’s curiosity, he sighed before nodding at the device.<br/>“That was a friend of mine. He lives just outside the city and has promised to let us stay there until the ferry to Jeju leaves tonight. He’s coming to pick us up in about an hour or so.”<br/>“...why would we have to stay there?” Wooyoung asked while squinting. Despite the other’s expression just now, he had already seen some of Seonghwa’s other supposed ‘friends’, and he really didn’t want to risk having something else of his disappear.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>as a reminder, some important notes for this chapter and upcoming ones:<br/>- as mentioned in chapter two, whenever the pov switches between seonghwa and wooyoung it will be marked by a "***"<br/>- whenever the pov is seonghwa's and the dialogue is in italics, that means they're speaking korean.</p><p>however, this chapter is entirely wooyoung's pov but i'm keeping the reminder in just in case lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>
</p><p>When the driver announced their upcoming arrival in Yeosu, Wooyoung woke up feeling oddly relaxed and happy, despite the short amount of sleep he’d gotten and the circumstances of his trip. Seonghwa, on the other hand, rubbed his face while groaning and stayed slumped in his seat up until the point where the bus actually stopped in the terminal and started letting people out.<br/>
“So, where are we -” Wooyoung started saying as they were stepping out, but Seonghwa just held up a hand to silence him.<br/>
“Coffee first,” he grumbled, heading towards the exit with such long steps Wooyoung almost had to run to keep up.</p><p>They found a café close by, got their coffees after Seonghwa once again paid, and sat down by a table close to the window on the second floor of the café.<br/>
“I haven’t seen a lot of this place yet, but wow,” Wooyoung said in awe, taking a tentative first sip of the hot coffee, “it’s already looking amazing.”<br/>
Seonghwa just huffed in response, rubbing at his left temple while typing something on his phone before putting it back inside one of his pockets. Wooyoung hadn’t noticed until now, but the man looked… rough, dark circles clearly visible under his somewhat bloodshot eyes.<br/>
“You don’t look like you got much sleep at all,” he noted, Seonghwa just silently shaking his head as he raised his own cup of coffee to his lips. “Despite being on a bus I feel like that was the best sleep I’ve had in days! I even dreamt something.”</p><p>
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Seonghwa stiffening slightly, but paid no mind. </p><p>“I just wish I could remember what it was about? I’m pretty sure Mark was in it, and we uh…” he scratched sheepishly at the back of his neck, Seonghwa slightly rolled his eyes in his response while sipping his coffee. “Yeah yeah, I know you don’t care but I’m telling you anyway because I’m in a good mood. There’s just... one thing that confuses me? I mean, I know Mark has never had a tongue piercing, and I’m sure I felt one - “</p><p>
He didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Seonghwa spat out the coffee he was drinking, hacking and coughing, placing the mug back on the table with such force he accidentally knocked it over.<br/>
“Jesus, Seonghwa, what the hell got into you?” Wooyoung got to his feet, grabbing his napkin as he moved over to the other, patting his back to ease the coughing while also trying to wipe up the coffee that had spilled. As Seonghwa’s coughing started to let up, he glanced up at Wooyoung before just as quickly looking away again, twisting to escape the hand on his back.<br/>
“I’m fine now,” he mumbled. “You can stop.”<br/>
“Are you sure?” Wooyoung pulled his hand away, standing up straight while observing the other who just nodded.<br/>
“Yes, I’m sure. Just focus on drinking yours before it gets cold. I’m... getting a refill, and more napkins.”</p><p>
Wooyoung went back to his seat, feeling kind of confused as he watched Seonghwa go back down to the first floor, but ended up just shrugging it off. He wouldn’t pretend he even knew him that well anyway, so why bother dwelling on it.<br/>
As Seonghwa returned, he was carrying a fresh cup, another wad of napkins and was speaking to someone on his phone. The conversation kept going for a short while even after he’d sat down, and Wooyoung was deadly curious to know who was on the other line. Never over the past couple of days had he seen such an animated yet soft expression on Seonghwa’s face as the one he saw right now. If Wooyoung felt something stir in his chest he pushed it back down just as fast as it had come up.</p><p>
Seonghwa finished wiping up the spilled coffee as he hung up, letting the phone lie on the table in front of him before taking a sip from the new cup. As if sensing Wooyoung’s curiosity, he sighed before nodding at the device.<br/>
“That was a friend of mine. He lives just outside the city and has promised to let us stay there until the ferry to Jeju leaves tonight. He’s coming to pick us up in about an hour or so.”<br/>
“...why would we have to stay there?” Wooyoung asked while squinting. Despite the other’s expression just now, he had already seen some of Seonghwa’s other supposed ‘friends’, and he really didn’t want to risk having something else of his disappear. </p><p>
“I don’t know about you, but I for one haven’t showered since we left San Francisco and I would very much like to,” Seonghwa spoke into his coffee, while looking at Wooyoung with a raised eyebrow. “Besides, his partner is about your size. He might let you borrow a change of clothes since yours got stolen.”<br/>
Wooyoung blushed, looking down at his attire. The past few days had gone by in such a blur he hadn’t even realised he was still wearing the same clothes he had put on specifically for travelling, and now that Seonghwa mentioned it, he did feel… well, grimy.<br/>
“Alright. Just promise me nothing will get stolen this time.”<br/>
He could see a small smile appear on Seonghwa’s face, mostly hidden by the cup.<br/>
“Don’t worry, Yunho is a good guy.”</p><p>After leaving the café, they ended up just strolling around the city to pass the time, Wooyoung enjoying the occasional breeze coming in from the sea to cool the two of them down. The city was beautiful, and he thoroughly enjoyed walking around listening to Seonghwa who occasionally pointed out whatever historical attraction or otherwise interesting thing they might have walked past.<br/>
“I have to ask…” Wooyoung had to ask after Seonghwa had finished talking about a popular seafood restaurant they passed, his curiosity now at its peak. “How come you know so much about this city?”<br/>
Seonghwa hummed, but didn’t reply right away.<br/>
“I used to live here.”</p><p>
Wooyoung almost stopped walking in surprise.<br/>
“Oh. How... long has it been since you came back?”<br/>
“Two… no, three years?”<br/>
“That long?” Wooyoung chuckled. “Why are we going to see your friend then, if your family lives here? Are they a nightmare or something?”<br/>
Seonghwa looked at him with an unreadable expression before shaking his head.<br/>
“You know, I don’t really want to talk about it.”</p><p>
There was something about the way he said it that made Wooyoung feel awkward, and he almost wanted to apologise despite not knowing why. Clearly it was a subject Seonghwa wasn’t comfortable with. The man might not have fully respected Wooyoung’s boundaries when they first met, but... Wooyoung wasn’t like that and despite the growing curiosity he decided to just let it go instead of poking and prodding further, clearing his throat as he pointed to a huge structure coming up.<br/>
“So… that large building up front, what is that exactly?”<br/>
Seonghwa glanced at him, some of the tension leaving his shoulders while he once more shared what he knew.</p><p>After some more walking, they slowly but surely started heading back towards the centre of the city, taking refuge from the now almost sweltering sun in yet another café. Without any care of being judged by the other café guests, Wooyoung held his iced americano up against his cheek, sighing as the cold drink provided relief. Seonghwa just chuckled, content with simply drinking what seemed to be some kind of strawberry milk - either way it was definitely not a drink of choice Wooyoung had expected.</p><p>
Wooyoung had just transferred the icy drink to his forehead when Seonghwa’s phone started ringing. He quickly started chatting away in Korean, glancing out the café window with a frown before turning back to Wooyoung, holding the phone away from his face.<br/>
“Yunho’s here now so I’ll go meet him - just wait here. I’ll be back soon.”<br/>
Wooyoung nodded in response, finally taking a slow sip of his americano as he watched Seonghwa walk out of the café and disappear in the crowd.</p><p>Despite drinking slowly he had almost finished his americano when Seonghwa returned, a taller man with blonde hair falling over his forehead in soft curls walking next to him.<br/>
“Wooyoung, this is Yunho - Yunho, Wooyoung,” Seonghwa said as he gestured in between the two of them, Yunho smiling brightly while holding out his hand as they joined Wooyoung by the table.<br/>
As Wooyoung shook Yunho’s hand he couldn’t help but be surprised as the man was nothing like what he’d imagined. He had expected some kind of… well, gangster basically - but Yunho had very sweet and gentle features, and he looked anything but threatening in his thin, cream-colored knitted hoodie and light jeans.</p><p>“It’s... nice to meet you,” Wooyoung eventually managed to say once the initial shock had subsided.<br/>
“Nice to meet you too,” Yunho replied in heavily accented English. “Seonghwa-hyung said you don’t speak Korean?”<br/>
Wooyoung shook his head, but Yunho just kept smiling.<br/>
“It’s okay, I… will try my best with English,” he said with a small chuckle. “Are you ready to go?”<br/>
“I took my coffee to go, so…” Wooyoung responded while glancing at Seonghwa who simply nodded, said something in Korean to Yunho.<br/>
“Okay, let’s go!” Yunho smiled as he got up, motioning for the two of them to follow.</p><p>Yunho’s car, an older red pickup truck, was parked just a couple blocks away, and once they all had got in and he started driving it didn’t take long for the city landscape to change into fields.<br/>
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Seonghwa suddenly said after 10 minutes of otherwise silent driving, apart from the music playing on the radio. He reached into one of his pockets and then held something out for Wooyoung to take.<br/>
“What’s this?” Wooyoung said while closely inspecting the item Seonghwa had given him. It was a small keychain with a small metal turtle, the word Yeosu in English and what Wooyoung could only assume was Korean engraved on it’s stomach, and a metal plate with something else engraved in Korean. </p><p>
“I don’t know, I saw it in a gift shop as I was heading to meet up with Yunho and thought you might like it,” Seonghwa shrugged, but turned around in his seat to watch Wooyoung’s reaction. “I even got them to engrave it with your name.”<br/>
He pointed at the metal plate with the Korean word and Wooyoung’s jaw dropped.<br/>
“So that’s what it looks like…” he whispered, stroking the hangul that made out his name, feeling oddly emotional all of a sudden.<br/>
“You… didn’t know?” he heard Seonghwa say, sounding slightly bewildered and as Wooyoung looked up with misty eyes he could see the surprise on the other’s face as he shook his head.<br/>
“I didn’t. I always  wanted to learn Korean, but… my adoptive parents didn’t care enough to let me and then I just... never managed to find the time.”<br/>
Wooyoung smiled, reaching out to gently pat Seonghwa’s shoulder.<br/>
“Thank you. I don’t think you understand how much this means to me.”<br/>
Then he leaned back, still smiling while stroking the engraving of his name and completely missing the look Yunho gave Seonghwa from the driver’s seat.</p><p><br/>
</p><p>Eventually Yunho turned the car down a smaller road, the landscape changing from leafy forests into fields, and from the fields into a fenced off area containing… a vineyard.<br/>
Huh. Wooyoung glanced to the front of the car, watching Yunho driving with a smile and Seonghwa casually resting his arm on the window ledge of the passenger side door. Suddenly the whole plant-smuggling business made <em>so</em> much more sense.<br/>
He soon lost all train of thought though as the car pulled up to a very old, yet impressive house. He must have let out a small gasp at the sight because Seonghwa turned around to look at him, then chuckled.</p><p>
“It’s called a hanok,” he said as they all got out of the car, Wooyoung still staring in awe. “It’s an old traditional Korean house.”<br/>
“It’s been renovated though,” Yunho smiled, gesturing for the two of them to follow him. “The inside is a bit more modern.”<br/>
“Don’t forget that you need to take your shoes off inside,” Seonghwa suddenly whispered to Wooyoung. “Just... follow what I’m doing if you’re unsure. Yunho won’t be offended if you do anything wrong, but...”<br/>
“No, I get it,” Wooyoung whispered back with a smile. “Thank you.”<br/>
Seonghwa stared at him for a moment, then cleared his throat and turned his gaze forward again.</p><p>Wooyoung continued to be awed by the house the closer he got, as Yunho took them down a paved walkway, leading into a yard in front of the L-shaped house. The whole front had a covered, wooden porch and what seemed to be glass sliding doors down one side. Yunho stepped up onto the porch, taking them to what Wooyoung could only assume was the main entrance - leading into a small, tiled entryway.<br/>
“Yunho, I know you kept me updated with the renovations but this is even more impressive than what you led me to believe,” Seonghwa said, already having taken off his shoes and checking out the house.<br/>
Yunho chuckled.<br/>
“Well, it had to be done. You remember how it used to be.”</p><p>
Wooyoung, finally rid of his shoes, followed the two other men and walked right into a living room with an open, modern kitchen that worked as a nice contrast to the wooden flooring, white walls and exposed beams in the ceiling.<br/>
Seonghwa nodded, smiling as Yunho added something in Korean before gesturing to Wooyoung to follow him just as another man similar in height to Wooyoung walked into the living room.<br/>
“Jongho!” Seonghwa exclaimed with a smile, walking up to the man with black hair and handsome yet boyish features, pulling him in for a quick hug. </p><p>
The other smiled and returned the hug, giving Seonghwa a pat on the back as he let go while responding in Korean - meanwhile Yunho walked up to them, taking Jongho’s hand and leaning in to whisper something. He gave Wooyoung a quick glance before turning towards Yunho again, nodding and giving the taller man’s hand a small squeeze. Then he let go, walking up to Wooyoung with a smile and holding out his hand.<br/>
“Hello. I’m Jongho.”<br/>
“Wooyoung,” he replied, shaking the other’s hand, noticing how firm the grip was. “It’s nice to meet you.”<br/>
“Nice to meet you too. Yunho said you... need clothes?”<br/>
Seonghwa let out a small nervous laugh, scratching his neck sheepishly.<br/>
“Yeah, uh… his bags were stolen in Seoul.”<br/>
Jongho turned to look at Seonghwa while squinting as a light blush started creeping up on the others face.<br/>
“And I’m sure you had absolutely nothing to do with that?”</p><p>
Wooyoung, despite wanting to laugh at how uncomfortable Seonghwa seemed to be under Jongho’s scrutinizing look, felt like he had to defend him in some way.<br/>
“He didn’t - he actually tried to help me get it back.”<br/>
“Uh-huh.”<br/>
Seonghwa cleared his throat again.<br/>
“Anyway… Do you have anything he can borrow?”<br/>
“I’m sure I can find something,” Jongho nodded. “I’ll take a look and bring it to your room.”<br/>
</p><p>Wooyoung’s brows furrowed. Seonghwa’s room? He lived here, with Yunho and Jongho? What about his family then?<br/>
The man in question didn’t notice Wooyoung’s confusion, he just nodded and gestured for Wooyoung to follow, leading him past the living room, and down a small hallway before opening the second door on the right, stepping aside with a smile to let Wooyoung enter first.</p><p>He started scanning the room as soon as he got inside - the left side of the room had a shelf that was mostly books, a couple of photos and some kind of figurines Wooyoung thought looked familiar but didn’t remember the name of, and a double bed that was basically just a mattress on the floor. Underneath the window was a low desk with another figurine on top of - unfinished by the looks of it - and the entire right side was a built-in closet. There was not a single thing on the floor, and even the clutter seemed to be placed in a very deliberate manner.<br/>
“Wow, this is… neat,” Wooyoung said, Seonghwa chuckling while walking past him to open up one of the closet doors to pull out what seemed to be towels.<br/>
“I like to keep things organised.”<br/>
“It really is your room then? I thought…”<br/>
Seonghwa, in the process of opening another closet door, glanced over his shoulder at Wooyoung’s confused expression.<br/>
“That I’d be living with my family?”<br/>
“Well… yeah.”<br/>
Seonghwa turned back to continue rummaging through the closet.<br/>
“I don’t. I’ve been living here since I was 15. And before you ask,” he sighed, “I still don’t want to talk about it.”</p><p>
Seonghwa closed the door, now holding a neat pile of clothes in his arms as he walked up to Wooyoung, giving him one of the two towels.<br/>
“Mind if I shower first? Jongho should be here with the clothes soon.”<br/>
Wooyoung shook his head, taking the towel and sitting down on the edge of the bed.<br/>
“Go ahead. I don’t mind resting a bit.”<br/>
“Feel free to snoop around as much as you want while I’m gone. Unless… you’d like to join me?”<br/>
“Wha- no, I don’t!” Wooyoung sputtered, feeling himself blushing furiously as he saw Seonghwa grinning at him from the now opened bedroom door.<br/>
“Suit yourself. You don’t know what you’re missing,” he laughed, gave Wooyoung a wink and closed the door after him.</p><p>Wooyoung fell back on the bed with a groan, forcing his heart to return back to it’s normal pace. 
“Get a fucking grip, Wooyoung,” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Remember why you’re here.”<br/>
A sudden knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts, and he quickly got up from the bed to open it - revealing Jongho on the other side, with a pile of clothes in his arms.<br/>
“Here,” he said, before placing the pile in Wooyoung’s arms. “These should all fit. You can take what you want and leave the rest.”<br/>
“Thank you,” Wooyoung smiled. “I appreciate it.”<br/>
Jongho stared at him without any kind of change in his facial expression for a couple more seconds, and Wooyoung was starting to feel like the other was sizing him up… but then the other's face broke out in a gummy smile.<br/>
“No problem. I hope you’ll find something you like.”<br/>
Wooyoung nodded, smiling a little wider, and Jongho turned to walk back to the living room.</p><p>
15 minutes later, Wooyoung had looked through the pile of clothes Jongho had given him and picked out a new outfit from it, ending up with dark jeans and a light green shirt that he placed on top of the towel for whenever it was his turn in the shower.<br/>
Speaking of which... Seonghwa still wasn’t back and as Wooyoung walked over to check out the bookshelf (the other man had, after all, given him permission to look around), he had to slap himself to force away the mental image that involuntarily popped up as he wondered what might take him so long.<br/>
He kneeled next to the shelf, running his fingers along the spines of the books Seonghwa kept there. There were actually some books in English, but most of them were in what Wooyoung just assumed to be Korean, and he was about to grab one and just look through it for curiosity’s sake when a neat pile of cd’s on the bottom shelf caught his attention.<br/>
“OH. What do we have here…” he chuckled, pulling out one of them as he heard the bedroom door open and close behind him.<br/>
“Sounds like you found something interesting?”<br/>
“I feel like this explains a few things,” Wooyoung laughed, holding up a My Chemical Romance-album, turning around to tease the other man further… only for him to choke on his own laughter.</p><p>
Seonghwa was standing there, wet hair slicked back in nothing but a towel hanging low on his hips, giving Wooyoung full view over the tattoos that he’d only caught glimpses of before. The tattoo on his neck was part of a larger piece that covered his entire upper left arm and consisted of a snake surrounded by two different flowers and ferns. The tattoo on his hand, and by extent lower right arm was a pirate ship, complete with tentacles grabbing the ship and a compass above it, surrounded by some kind of coordinates. Apparently... there was also a third - some kind of constellation on Seonghwa’s right hip bone. Wooyoung couldn’t help but find his gaze drawn to it.</p><p>
“Regretting that you didn’t join me?” he heard Seonghwa chuckle, sending Wooyoung out of his thoughts with a jolt.<br/>
“Yes… N- NO, no, I wasn’t!” he stuttered, seeing Seonghwa raising an eyebrow as he continued smirking.</p><p>
<em>Shit</em>. He quickly got to his feet, grabbed the towel and clothes and rushed past Seonghwa out of the room with another word, just wanting to escape. He quickly realised his mistake however, cursing before forcing himself to walk back down the hall to Seonghwa’s bedroom, where the other was still standing and looking thoroughly amused as Wooyoung returned.<br/>
“Where is the bathroom in this house?”</p><p><br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>please leave a comment if you enjoyed the chapter as it inspires me to actually finish this au among all my uni assignments 🥺</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter Six.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“There’s nothing to talk about,” Seonghwa mumbled, transferring the now chopped spring onions into a second bowl and picking up a radish. He sighed as he started peeling. “We’re just friends.”<br/>“Oh come on,” Yunho scoffed, leaning forward while resting his elbows on the counter. “Since when are you just friends with people?”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>as a reminder, some important notes for this chapter and upcoming ones:<br/>- as mentioned in chapter two, whenever the pov switches between seonghwa and wooyoung it will be marked by a "***"<br/>- whenever the pov is seonghwa's and the dialogue is in italics, that means they're speaking korean.</p><p>CW warning for this chapter:<br/>smoking after the pov changes, references to minor character deaths in the past</p><p>that should be all!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>
</p><p>“<em>So… anything you want to tell me?</em>”</p><p>
Seonghwa sighed, he could hear the grin on Yunho’s face as the other sat down on a barstool at the opposite side of the kitchen island. He continued grabbing the ingredients he needed in the fridge, before turning around, closing the fridge with his foot and walking over, dumping it all in front of where Yunho was sitting. Yeah, he was definitely grinning, and watching Seonghwa with a raised eyebrow.<br/>
“<em>No.</em>”</p><p>
Yunho began pouting, which Seonghwa pointedly ignored as he started cutting the beef he’d just grabbed into thin slices.<br/>
“<em>Bowls? Soy sauce? Sugar?</em>” he asked instead once he finished, watching Yunho point to two different cabinets.<br/>
“<em>It should all be where you remember, we didn’t move stuff around after renovating.</em>”<br/>
“<em>Thank fuck,</em>” Seonghwa smiled as he walked up to the cabinet he usually found the plates and serving bowls in, relieved to actually find them there and pulling out a few before placing them next to the cutting board he was using.<br/>
“<em>Tell me about it,</em>” Yunho chuckled. “<em>We actually tried moving things around but then Jongho ended up having a near meltdown while making dinner so we just… put it all back.</em>”<br/>
“<em>Well, I would have had one now so - I appreciate that you didn’t.</em>”<br/>
Yunho just smiled, silently watching Seonghwa take out the last remaining ingredients from the cabinets.</p><p>
“<em>Don’t think I’m letting you off the hook, by the way,</em>” he eventually piped up, after Seonghwa had finished marinating the beef, leaving it off to the side while starting to chop up spring onions for one of the salads.<br/>
“<em>There’s nothing to talk about,</em>” Seonghwa mumbled, transferring the now chopped spring onions into a second bowl and picking up a radish. He sighed as he started peeling.<br/>
“<em>We’re just friends.</em>”<br/>
“<em>Oh come on,</em>” Yunho scoffed, leaning forward while resting his elbows on the counter. “<em>Since when are you just friends with people?</em>”<br/>
Seonghwa glared at him.<br/>
“<em>Since I met him.</em>”</p><p>
Yunho watched Seonghwa with an amused grin as he started chopping the radish into thin strips. Once again, he transferred the chopped up vegetable into a separate bowl, and even got through mixing the sauces for both the green onion and radish salads before he leaned against the counter, fixing his eyes on Yunho.<br/>
“<em>What’s that supposed to even mean though? We are ‘just friends’, Yunho.</em>”<br/>
Yunho laughed, reaching over to steal a small piece of the radish salad.<br/>
“<em>You know exactly what I mean, hyung. Besides, we’re basically brothers at this point.</em>”<br/>
Seonghwa rolled his eyes, watching Yunho happily munching away on the radish he’d stolen as he grabbed what was left of the vegetables he’d brought out, chopping them up and plating them.</p><p>
He had just finished making the dipping sauce and was about to grab the kimchi from the fridge when Yunho sighed.<br/>
“<em>Hyung… I saw the way you looked at him in the car earlier. I’ve known you since I was 9 and I’ve never seen you do that with anyone.</em>”<br/>
Seonghwa shrugged, retrieving the kimchi and placing the tub down on the counter.<br/>
“<em>So?</em>”<br/>
<em>“So?!”</em> Yunho exclaimed, reaching out to grab hold of Seonghwa’s hand. <em>“I don’t know the extent of them but clearly you have feelings for him.”<br/>
“And what if I do?” </em>Seonghwa snapped. <em>“Just what do you want me to do about it?!”</em></p><p>
He pulled his hand out of Yunho’s grip, seeing the other’s expression go from excited to confused, to concerned. Seonghwa sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand while resting the other on the counter.<br/>
“<em>Sorry. I just… even if I felt something, there’s no way I can tell him.</em>”<br/>
“<em>But... why?</em>”<br/>
“<em>He’s engaged, Yunho,</em>” Seonghwa sighed, seeing the realisation wash over Yunho’s face. “<em>He literally came here to bring his fiancé back home. It’s his only reason for even being here.</em>”<br/>
“<em>...shit</em>,” Yunho eventually breathed out, leaning back while crossing his arms. “<em>I’m sorry, hyung. That sucks.</em>”<br/>
Seonghwa shrugged, going back to preparing the food by distributing everything he’d chopped and sliced onto plates.<br/>
“<em>Only if I felt something,</em>” Seonghwa said, lifting his gaze for a moment to meet Yunho’s eyes and giving him a knowing look before walking over to the rice cooker. “<em>Which I already told you, I don’t.</em>”</p><p>He could hear Yunho breathe in as if to say something at the same moment the front door opened, and Wooyoung and Jongho returned, hearing them both chatting away while removing their shoes. Four bowls of rice in hand, Seonghwa took a deep breath and turned around, walking back over to the counter just as Wooyoung and Jongho entered the kitchen, putting the bowls down while sending Wooyoung a small smile.</p><p>
“Did you have fun?”<br/>
“This place is amazing!” Wooyoung beamed as he sat down on a barstool next to Yunho, and Seonghwa felt his bastard heart jump at the sight. “I’ve never been at a vineyard before and Jongho is a great guide!”<br/>
Jongho let out a little chuckle as he walked over to Yunho, hugging him from behind while resting his head on the others shoulder - Yunho in turn just smiling and leaning in to rest his head against Jonghos while reaching up to hold his hand.<br/>
“You’re giving me too much credit, I didn’t do much at all.” Jongho pouted, but there was a small smile playing at the corner of his lips as he watched Seonghwa reach over to grab the bowl with the marinated beef to mix it up again. “Are we ready to start eating?”<br/>
Seonghwa nodded, moving to wash his hands clean of the marinade.<br/>
“As soon as the table is set up with the grill and everything.”<br/>
Yunho nodded, quickly pressing a kiss to Jongho’s cheek before getting up and walking over to a cabinet to pull out the grill in question.</p><p>
“Jongho, can you move the table over so it’s closer to the porch?” he said, turning around with the grill in his arms. “I was thinking we could open the doors and not get as much smoke indoors.”<br/>
Jongho nodded, walking over to the low table in question while rolling up his sleeves.<br/>
“Do you need any help?”<br/>
Wooyoung was about to get up from where he was sitting but Jongho just shook his head, grabbing the table and lifting it up as if it was nothing. Seonghwa couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at the surprised expression on the others face, before picking up and holding out one of the serving plates in Wooyoung's direction.</p><p>“You can help move the food over to the table if you want?” he smiled, Wooyoung turning to accept the plate, once more looking over the food Seonghwa had prepared.<br/>
“Did… did you really make all this?”<br/>
Seonghwa nodded, balancing two of the plates on one hand and holding the bowl of marinated beef in his other.<br/>
“Yeah, I did. It wasn’t that hard.”<br/>
“Wasn’t that hard? I can barely boil an egg, this is… really impressive,” Wooyoung pouted as he moved over to the table where Yunho had finished setting up the grill.<br/>
“I could teach you.”<br/>
As Wooyoung turned to look at him with his mouth yet again open in surprise, Seonghwa cursed the fact that his mouth had moved before his thoughts caught up with him. Why the hell would he even want to be taught by him, he probably wanted nothing to do with Seonghwa once they - </p><p>
“Sure.”<br/>
“Huh?” Seonghwa was pulled right out of his line of thinking, a small smile having replaced the surprise on Wooyoung’s face.<br/>
“I’d like that,” he said, putting down the plate on the table as Yunho and Jongho brought over the rest of the plates and the bowls of rice.<br/>
Seonghwa just stood there in silence, completely stunned until Yunho cleared his throat and shot him another knowing look which Seonghwa returned with a small glare.<br/>
“Let’s just eat,” he mumbled, placing the food he was holding on the table and sitting down. He instantly began making himself busy with grilling the beef and sliced pork belly he’d prepared, trying to calm down as Yunho started questioning Wooyoung what Jongho had shown him during the tour of their vineyard.</p><p>Wooyoung continued to watch Seonghwa grilling the meat with fascination while responding to Yunho’s questions. They were all surprised he had never had Korean barbecue before, as Seonghwa commented that restaurants definitely existed in the US where he could have tried it.<br/>
Wooyoung had blushed, fiddling with the seam on the jeans he’d borrowed as he confessed he had never gotten around to it because Mark didn’t like Asian food and he didn’t feel like going alone.</p><p>
The other three exchanged a look before Seonghwa handed over the tongs to Jongho, picking up two lettuce leaves and giving one to Wooyoung before showing him how to make a lettuce wrap.<br/>
They couldn’t help but coo slightly when Wooyoung struggled with his chopsticks, but he learned quickly and by the time he was preparing his eight wrap it was like he had used them all his life. Yunho joked that it must be because it was in his nature to use and the proud smile Wooyoung gave them made Seonghwa’s continuously traitorous heart twist in his ribcage again.</p><p>They fell into easy conversation, touching on a bunch of different subjects - but Wooyoung also ended up telling them about how he’d been adopted as a baby, raised by parents who seemed to treat him more like a symbol of how “good” they were than an actual son only to kick him out once he didn’t fit their standards anymore, and about what had happened.<br/>
He even told them everything about Mark from when they met up until the dreaded phone call he’d received that made him drop everything. Once Yunho found out Wooyoung also enjoyed dancing, and that he even owned a small dance studio where he taught other people, the two really started bonding.</p><p>
Seonghwa sat there, arms crossed and leaning against the table, watching Yunho show Wooyoung some of his recorded dance covers while Jongho sometimes butted in with small jokes or anecdotes about each recording… and he couldn’t help but think of how natural it all felt, sitting there with the three of them in the house that had been his home for the past 10 years. Wooyoung was like… one of the last missing pieces in his puzzle.</p><p>He hated to admit it but Yunho was right. He was definitely starting to feel something, and he <em>didn’t want to</em>, neither could he explain exactly why - they barely knew each other for god’s sake. And… what only made it harder was the fact that he was still lying to Wooyoung.<br/>
The necklace was still in the other’s bag somewhere and Seonghwa had to get it back. Once he did there was no need to pretend he was sticking around out of the goodness of his heart anymore. </p><p>Was he still pretending though?</p><p><br/>
</p><p>***</p><p><br/>
</p><p>Wooyoung had to admit it - he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this much fun. The pain in his cheeks was evidence of that. He hadn’t expected that morning to find two new friends in Yunho and Jongho, and especially not one as passionate about dancing as he had always been.<br/>
Chuckling to himself he left Seonghwa’s bedroom, walking over to the living area expecting to see the other sitting around somewhere… but he didn’t. Maybe he had gone to talk to Yunho and Jongho in the office? He frowned, trying to decide whether to go and check or just sit down by the counter until Seonghwa returned, when he saw a shape moving outside on the porch.</p><p>
He sighed, a bit relieved, then walked over to open one of the glass sliding doors leading outside. As soon as he set foot on the porch, the pungent and harsh smell of cigarette smoke caused his eyes to water, making him close the door quickly to not let it get inside the house.<br/>
If Seonghwa had heard him come outside, he didn’t show it - he was just sitting there, watching the sunset fade into an inky blue, the smoke from the lit cigarette he was holding slowly rising.
Wooyoung scrunched his nose at the smell, but moved over to sit down next to the other regardless.<br/>
None of them said a word for a moment, Wooyoung just let his feet dangle in the air, watching Seonghwa out of the corner of his eye as he took a drag of his cigarette and breathing out the smoke slowly.</p><p>
“I didn’t know you smoked.”<br/>
Seonghwa hummed thoughtfully.<br/>
“Officially I quit two years ago. But sometimes I just…” he sighed, shrugging before letting out a humorless chuckle. “I know it’s a shitty coping mechanism, but it helps.”<br/>
“Coping mechanism for what?” Wooyoung asked, pulling one leg to his chest before resting his cheek on it as he watched Seonghwa.<br/>
The other just took another drag of his cigarette, again blowing the smoke out slowly.<br/>
“I… I have a lot to think about.”<br/>
“Does being back here make you miss parents? Is that why?”</p><p>
As soon as he’d uttered the words and saw Seonghwa freeze in place, Wooyoung knew he’d overstepped. He sat up straight, worry taking over his face.<br/>
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have -”<br/>
“Who told you?” Seonghwa said, not sounding angry or sad, just… defeated.<br/>
Wooyoung chewed on his lip, again leaning his chin on his knee.<br/>
“Jongho did… by accident, while he was showing me around. He thought I knew.”<br/>
The other chuckled.<br/>
“Well, it’s not like it’s a secret. I just don’t like talking about it and it’s… not something you bring up in casual conversation, you know?”<br/>
“You don’t have to answer, but how…”<br/>
“How did they die?” Seonghwa finished the sentence, glancing at Wooyoung who nodded, turning his head to watch Seonghwa again. “A car accident. They’d been out to restock for their restaurant when a storm hit… the car ended up aquaplaning and going off the road. They might have survived if they were found in time, but…”</p><p>
Seonghwa took a deep, shuddering breath, shaking his head.<br/>
“Yunho’s parents ended up taking me in. They used to own this vineyard and were good friends with my parents.”<br/>
“What were they like?”<br/>
“They were great,” Seonghwa said with a sad smile, taking a last drag of the cigarette before putting it out, flicking the cigarette butt into a nearby bush. “Supportive… very open-minded. Loved me more than anything but weren’t afraid of letting me know when I was being a little shit either.”<br/>
“You must miss them.”<br/>
Seonghwa leaned back, supporting himself on one arm as he turned to look at Wooyoung with the same sad smile.<br/>
“Every day.”
</p><p>Wooyoung resisted the urge to reach out and take Seonghwa’s hand, opting instead to smile back.<br/>
“You said they owned a restaurant,” he eventually said to try and shift the subject a little bit. “Is that how you learned to cook?”<br/>
Seonghwa nodded, his gaze returning to the now dark blue sky above them where a couple of stars had started appearing.<br/>
“I started helping out in whatever way I could around the same time I started going to school. At first I just wiped tables and washed dishes but the older I got the more they started letting me help out with the actual food preparations too. I…”</p><p>
Seonghwa sat up straight again, clasping his hands together in his lap.<br/>
“My plan was always to take over the restaurant when I was old enough… but then they died, and it was sold when I moved to live here.”<br/>
“I’m sorry,” Wooyoung said, causing Seonghwa to shake his head.<br/>
“There was nothing I could do back then anyway, I was too young… but I swore that one day I would start my own restaurant, to… I guess honor them in a way. Everything I’ve done since then has been to achieve that promise, and I’m getting close.”<br/>
Wooyoung couldn’t help but chuckle.<br/>
“So you would do anything for that restaurant?”<br/>
Seonghwa nodded.<br/>
“I would.”<br/>
“Even get down on your knees and beg?”<br/>
Seonghwa turned to face Wooyoung again, and nodded.<br/>
“Yeah, I would.”<br/>
“Then what makes you so different from me?” Wooyoung smiled, seeing surprise on the others face before Seonghwa returned his smile.<br/>
“You got me there,” he said, laughing while pulling a hand through his hair.<br/>
They fell into a comfortable silence for some time, just watching the night sky above them and hearing nothing but the cicadas in the fields.</p><p>
“Wooyoung?”<br/>
“Yeah?” he responded, turning to look at Seonghwa and almost jumping in surprise at seeing the other lean in closer to him.<br/>
“I will help you get Mark back. Once we get to Jeju... if you want him back, we’ll do it. I promise.”
Wooyoung could only nod in response, kind of stunned by the sudden declaration, as the other got back on his feet.</p><p>“We should start heading off soon. I’ll go let Yunho know so he can take us.”<br/>
Wooyoung moved to get up as well, Seonghwa quickly holding out his hand to help him up by pulling him to his feet. Wooyoung cursed the way his face heated up when he realised how close they were standing and thanked whatever higher power existed that it was dark enough for Seonghwa not to notice. </p><p>
When Seonghwa attempted to let go of Wooyoung’s hand though, he wouldn’t let him.<br/>
“Seonghwa?”<br/>
“Yes?” the other asked, tilting his head in slight confusion.<br/>
Wooyoung took a deep breath, stood on his toes and leaned in to give Seonghwa a quick kiss on the cheek, pulling back only to see the other with eyes wide in surprise. Wooyoung quickly released his hold on the other’s hand.<br/>
“Just… thank you. For today. And for telling me about your parents,” he mumbled, then rushed over to open the sliding door and slip inside, leaving Seonghwa behind on the porch.</p><p>Little over an hour later, they were both standing in the terminal, tickets in hand after having said goodbye to Yunho, who had slipped Wooyoung a piece of paper with his phone number and  told him to get in touch as soon as he’d acquired a new phone. He had then hugged both Wooyoung and Seonghwa before going back to his car, giving them a last wave as he walked out the doors.<br/>
“Alright, let’s go,” Seonghwa said, passing Wooyoung his ticket before walking in the same direction everybody else in the terminal seemed to be walking. Just after passing ticket control, Wooyoung couldn’t stay quiet anymore.<br/>
“Can I ask you something?”</p><p>
Seonghwa hummed, trying not to bump into an older lady that they passed.<br/>
“I was just thinking about what you said earlier, about the restaurant? How are you going to afford it? You must have something planned.”<br/>
“I did,” Seonghwa nodded. “I’ve been saving money for a long time, and I uh… I had something I was planning to sell to get the last amount I need, but it… didn’t work out.”<br/>
“It didn’t? What were you planning?”<br/>
“I had something I was planning on selling.”<br/>
“Like what?” Wooyoung chuckled. “More plants? No, don’t tell me - drugs?”<br/>
Seonghwa snorted.<br/>
“In Korea? No, nothing like that. It doesn’t matter anyway. I lost it.”<br/>
“You lost it?!”<br/>
Seonghwa sighed and nodded.<br/>
“You know... if it was me, I would have made sure to have some kind of backup plan in case the first didn’t work out. Maybe something like… this?” </p><p>Wooyoung reached into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out the diamond necklace that had mysteriously appeared in his backpack and that he’d found earlier the same day. The minute he saw the shocked expression on Seonghwa’s face as the other stopped walking, just staring at the necklace Wooyoung was dangling in front of his face, he knew he’d made the right guess. He laughed, put the necklace back in his pocket and kept following everyone else, turning around after a couple of steps when he noticed Seonghwa still hadn’t moved.</p><p>
“Are you coming?”</p><p><br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>FIRST - HAPPY 2ND ANNIVERSARY ✨❤️</p><p>SECOND - if you're observant you may have noticed that the amount of chapter have gone from 10 to 11 :)<br/>with the way i had originally laid out the fanfic, chapter 9 would have been the last one - but as i started writing it i realised i didn't like it, so i switched things around a little.... and you're getting an extra chapter :3</p><p>and third - please leave a comment if you enjoyed the chapter as they're the fuel that keeps me going! 🥺❤️</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter Seven.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“NO, I don’t want that, it’s not me who wants it!” Seonghwa snapped back, gesturing towards himself while walking up to Wooyoung and kneeling down in front of him.<br/>“Then what do you want?!”<br/>“I want you!”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>as a reminder, some important notes for this chapter:<br/>- as mentioned in chapter two, whenever the pov switches between seonghwa and wooyoung it will be marked by a "***"<br/>- whenever the pov is seonghwa's and the dialogue is in italics, that means they're speaking korean.</p><p>a slightly longer chapter for you this time :3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>
</p><p>The trip to Jeju in itself was very uneventful, since as the ferry had departed closer to 2am at night Wooyoung and Seonghwa both felt it was better to try and sleep as much as they could. It was easier said than done though, considering their sleeping arrangements consisted of a hard floor in a room they shared with around 20 other passengers… on top of Wooyoung being incredibly nervous for what the upcoming days would bring.</p><p>He also wasn’t entirely sure still what Seonghwa’s motives were in regards to helping him get Mark back, and since he’d given him the necklace after they had come on board he kept waking up, fearing to find the other gone. However, each time he woke up and forced himself to open one eye and check, he was relieved to find Seonghwa still soundly sleeping next to him, leather jacket draped over his upper body and head resting on one of his arms, in lieu of both blanket and pillow.</p><p>
Upon their arrival in Jeju, they both had gotten up from the floor (with groans and mutters as loud as their cracking joints) and agreed that as much as they both wanted to just grab a taxi to the hotel and just crashing into their beds, walking there would allow them to wake up more - on top of figuring out a plan for Wooyoung to get Mark back.</p><p>“First things first - you need to be careful picking the field of battle. You can never let Mark see just how much you want him back, and definitely do not ever tell him you do.”<br/>
Wooyoung hummed in response, taking a sip of his takeaway coffee while looking over the small park they’d decided to take a small break in.<br/>
“Second,” Seonghwa continued, turning to look Wooyoung right in the eyes, “you have to be… intriguing, mysterious - pretend that he’s insignificant. Because when he sees you, he’s going to be expecting you to make it into some big, dramatic scene and you will not give him that kind of satisfaction.”<br/>
“I think I can do that.”<br/>
“You have to. And remember - I’m here to help, in whatever manner you need me to.”</p><p>
Once they had reached Astar Hotel, Wooyoung had concluded that Jeju was just like Yeosu in the sense that it got really fucking warm despite the ocean breeze. The cold draft from the air conditioning unit was godsent, and judging from the pleased sigh from the man next to him Seonghwa felt the same, having shed his leather jacket during the walk earlier and now casually carrying it over his arm. After dabbing away the sweat on his face with his forearm, Seonghwa gave Wooyoung a smile and nodded in the direction of the front desk.<br/>
“Come on, let’s get checked in.”</p><p>
Wooyoung followed close behind, glancing around the lobby that was sleek and modern with it’s marbled stone floor and walls with dark wooden details. It might not have been fancy like Hotel Shilla, but he was nevertheless impressed, and he kept looking around as they reached the front desk and Seonghwa started talking to the concierge in Korean. Wooyoung focused on the pair, watching the concierge type away on his computer with Seonghwa occasionally saying something in response. </p><p>At one point the concierge seemed hesitant, clearly asking Seonghwa something who simply gave Wooyoung a quick glance before shaking his head and smiling while saying… something. God, it still frustrated him that he knew nothing in Korean, apart from “hello” and “thank you” that Yunho and Jongho had taught him the day before, but everyone talked so fast he wasn’t sure he’d even be able to catch those two simple phrases.</p><p>
Once Seonghwa had paid for the room, and the concierge had handed him what Wooyoung assumed was the hotel keys and started explaining whatever, so Wooyung just started looking around again. He’d noticed multiple people coming and going to a room adjacent to the lobby and now that he looked closer, it seemed to be the hotel restaurant and judging from the time... he concluded that hotel breakfast must still be going on, or about to end at least. He was just finishing his sweep over the people in the restaurant, when…</p><p>
“Shit!” he gasped, quickly looking away which caught the attention of Seonghwa.<br/>
“What’s wrong?”<br/>
“Mark is right there!” Wooyoung said through gritted teeth, nodding towards the restaurant.<br/>
“He is?!” Seonghwa quickly turned to look at the people in the restaurant, then put his arm around Wooyoung and started leading him away.<br/>
“Don’t turn around. He’s heading our way.”</p><p>Wooyoung almost froze in his step, which Seonghwa must have felt somehow because he simply pulled him closer and started walking faster until they reached the elevator, pressing the button to go up repeatedly while looking at the display above the doors.<br/>
“Would it kill this elevator to be a little faster?” he muttered, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder. “Fuck.”<br/>
Suddenly Wooyoung was pushed against the wall, Seonghwa leaning against it with one arm resting by his head while Seonghwa grabbed the nape of Wooyoung’s neck with his other hand.<br/>
“I’m so sorry for this,” he whispered, then leaned in.</p><p>As Seonghwa’s lips met his, Wooyoung couldn’t help but let out a small surprised yelp, his hands coming up to grasp at Seonghwa’s t-shirt. Seonghwa pressed a little closer, moving his lips enough for Wooyoung to involuntarily let out a small moan, even though it never went past a closed-mouth kiss.<br/>
As Seonghwa’s fingers started playing with the hair at Wooyoung’s nape, they suddenly heard someone clearing their throat behind Seonghwa. He broke the kiss, opting instead for pulling Wooyoung closer and pressing his face against Seonghwa’s chest, all while turning to glare over his shoulder at whoever was talking.</p><p>
“What?” he snarled, a similar tone to his voice as the one he’d had while confronting San back in Seoul.<br/>
“I’m sorry, I just… thought I saw someone I knew.”<br/>
Wooyoung froze. That was definitely Mark’s voice, and despite wanting to just step out and see him, he shuffled closer against Seonghwa who let his grip around Wooyoung become a bit tighter.<br/>
“We were kind of in the middle of something here,” Seonghwa snarled again, and despite being pressed so close to Seonghwa Wooyoung could hear Mark breathe in as if he was about to speak when an unfamiliar, accented voice spoke.<br/>
“Mark? You just left. My parents are -”<br/>
“I know, I know, I just… could have sworn I saw Wooyoung…”<br/>
“Mark,” the other voice sounded soft but stern at the same time. “Come back with me.”</p><p>
If Mark tried to argue against the other, Wooyoung never found out because at the same time the elevator finally arrived. Seonghwa, still holding him firmly against his chest, gently guided him backwards into the elevator, quickly pressing the buttons.<br/>
He didn’t let him go until after the elevator doors had closed.</p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me this was the same hotel Mark stayed at?”<br/>
Wooyoung shrank a little at the tone of Seonghwa’s voice, placing his backpack on the sofa in their room before he turned around. He was definitely not happy, if the clenched jaw was anything to go by.<br/>
“I didn’t think it mattered.”<br/>
“Didn’t think -  Wooyoung, you should have told me! This could have ruined the whole plan!”<br/>
“But it didn’t,” Wooyoung countered, feeling his cheeks heat up before muttering, “you made sure of that…”<br/>
“And if it had? Didn’t you listen to a single word I said? How am I supposed to help you get him back if this is what will happen straight away?!”<br/>
“I did listen! Also <em>you</em> never questioned the reason I mentioned this hotel in the first place! Did you think I just randomly pulled it out of thin air?!”</p><p>Wooyoung walked over to the bed and sat down with a sigh.<br/>
“Look, Seonghwa… I’m sorry, but it was an accident, okay? I didn’t know he’d be there right then!” He grimaced. “Apparently sucking up to that guy's parents… Ugh. And did you see <em>him</em>?”<br/>
“I did,” Seonghwa nodded thoughtfully, crossing his arms.<br/>
“And..?”<br/>
“He was... He was, uh…not bad.”<br/>
“Oh, I see. I know what you’re saying,” Wooyoung scoffed. “I’m not sexy enough.”<br/>
Seonghwa seemed to choke on air.<br/>
“I didn’t even say anything!”</p><p>“I already told you, you didn’t have to - it’s obvious. I’m not sexy enough so <em>instead</em> you want me to be this mysterious, flirty and manipulative guy -”<br/>
“NO, I don’t want that, it’s not me who wants it!” Seonghwa snapped back, gesturing towards himself while walking up to Wooyoung and kneeling down in front of him.<br/>
“Then <em>what</em> do you want?!”
“ I want you!”</p><p>Silence fell in the room as the two stared at each other.</p><p>“You… you want me?” Wooyoung whispered.<br/>
“I want you…” Seonghwa spoke in a low voice, reaching out to take Wooyoung’s hand, “to make Mark suffer. I want him to be tempted. I want you to make him feel like even though you are right there in front of him… he can’t have you.”<br/>
Seonghwa sighed, getting back up on his feet and walking over to the door, opening it before giving Wooyoung a quick glance over his shoulder.<br/>
“That is all.”<br/>
He walked out, letting the door close behind him, and left Wooyoung in the room still gaping in shock.</p><p>Seonghwa didn’t return until almost three hours later (not that Wooyoung had been counting the minutes or anything), carrying two plastic bags that Wooyoung assumed was food if the smell that spread in the room was anything to go by.<br/>
Wooyoung himself reached over to grab the remote, turning off the TV that he’d used to distract himself with from both the silence, and the conversation they’d had before Seonghwa had left earlier… not that it was working very well.</p><p>
Hell, even looking at Seonghwa now, while he was unpacking the food he’d bought and placing it on the small coffee table in the corner of their hotel room, he kept hearing the words “I want you” repeated in his head. He felt so stupid to hone in on it the way he did because he <em>knew</em> Seonghwa hadn’t meant it that way... and even if he did, Wooyoung shouldn’t be as affected by it as he was - he loved Mark for fuck’s sake, and he still wanted him back.</p><p>Seonghwa still hadn’t said a single word since he got back, but by now he had finished unpacking so Wooyoung approached him carefully, clearing his throat.<br/>
“Where were you?”<br/>
“Just went for a walk,” the other mumbled, shrugging off his leather jacket and throwing it over the sofa armrest before sitting down and taking the lids off the containers. “Did some shopping. I also figured you’d be hungry by now, so I got us a few things from Dongmun market, if... you’d like to sit and eat.”</p><p>
Wooyoung did what he’d suggested and sat down in the armchair, not really knowing why he felt so bad all of a sudden. They had been quiet before but even though their previous silences had been tense at times, it had never felt awkward in the way it did now and he <em>hated it</em>.<br/>
“What, uh… what did you get?”<br/>
“Tteokbokki, fried chicken… some simple side dishes,” Seonghwa answered, handing Wooyoung a pair of chopsticks as a smile played on the corner of his lips for the first time since he stepped back inside their room. “I wasn’t sure how well you do with spicy food so I made sure to not get the spicy chicken.”<br/>
Wooyoung smiled in return, accepting the chopsticks as he reached for a piece of chicken.</p><p>They ate in silence for a moment, before Wooyoung put down his chopsticks.<br/>
“Seonghwa, I… I’m sorry for earlier. I shouldn’t have kept the truth about this hotel from you.”<br/>
Seonghwa smiled weakly, shaking his head as he finally turned to look at Wooyoung.<br/>
“I’m the one who should apologise. I had no right blowing up on you like that.”<br/>
“No, no - if it wasn’t for you the whole plan would have been ruined. Your, uh… quick thinking earlier saved it.”<br/>
The other man chuckled.<br/>
“You’re making it sound like it was life or death.”<br/>
Wooyoung couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.<br/>
“Maybe…” he said, then sighed. “But, Seonghwa…”<br/>
“Hm?”<br/>
“Do you… do you think I still have a chance with Mark, even after what happened earlier?”</p><p>
The smile on Seonghwa’s face slowly faded away.<br/>
“Yes. And… tomorrow, we’ll turn it to our advantage.”<br/>
“We will? How?”<br/>
“Because he’s going to be wondering if he really did see you. You’ll be like a ghost, a… phantom of sorts - and it will slowly but surely infect their relationship.”<br/>
“So… when do I confront him? Or, them?”<br/>
Seonghwa reached for a piece of chicken, taking a bite before looking at Wooyoung with a grin.
“Just when they’ve started to relax again… That’s when you attack. And I have a plan for how to do it.”</p><p><br/>
</p><p>***</p><p><br/>
</p><p>Seonghwa got up early the next morning - way earlier than he liked and he envied Wooyoung for being able to stay behind in their hotel room, in the comfortable queen sized bed they had ended up sharing… at Wooyoung’s insistence.</p><p>
“Stop being ridiculous,” he’d huffed when Seonghwa had tried to remove one of the pillows to sleep on the sofa. “There’s plenty of room for the both of us, and you paid for the room. It’s only fair you get to sleep in a bed.”</p><p>
Seonghwa didn’t want to argue against him. He wouldn’t have been able to explain why he wanted to sleep on the sofa in the first place, if the other had asked. How do you even explain to the man you’re supposed to be helping getting their fiancé back that you’re… oh well. It didn’t matter.<br/>
He had slept well though, much better than he would have on the sofa, and now he was sitting in a small café across the road from the hotel, waiting for the moment they could set their plan in motion.</p><p>
According to Wooyoung Mark was an early riser, even during vacations, so unless that habit had suddenly changed after all these years they’d figured the couple would be on the move relatively early. Hence Seonghwa’s current position at the café, which allowed him perfect view over the hotel entrance and everyone coming and going.</p><p>About one and a half hours and two lattes later, Seonghwa saw a familiar face exit the hotel, accompanied by a long-haired, blonde male. He quickly got up from his seat, grabbing the leather jacket he’d thrown over the backrest as he gave the barista small smile and a nod before exiting and heading after the couple.</p><p>
Making sure to keep a safe enough distance so he wouldn’t lose them, and they wouldn’t notice him, he followed them down the street a couple of blocks away from the hotel, hoping they actually had headed out to get breakfast somewhere. If not, the plan was basically screwed and Seonghwa would have to return to the hotel and they’d try again the following morning - so he let out a sigh of relief when they entered a café about ten minutes away from the hotel. </p><p>He waited a little longer to make sure they weren’t just getting takeaway, but as the couple re-emerged with a small tray and sat down by one of the tables outside, Seonghwa smirked, rolled his shoulders and crossed the street.<br/>
“Alright, showtime.”</p><p>“Hey, don’t I know you?”<br/>
He watched Mark look up from his coffee in surprise, a frown appearing for a split second as he took in Seonghwa’s appearance. “I could swear I’ve seen you… AH, the hotel lobby! Yesterday morning, right?”<br/>
Mark's frown was replaced by a wave of recognition as the other cleared his throat and nodded.<br/>
“Yeah, that was me.”<br/>
“Look, I’m sorry for being rude yesterday,” Seonghwa smiled, leaning against the fence surrounding the outdoor seating area. “You just caught me at an… unfortunate moment.”<br/>
Mark shook his head, giving Seonghwa a weak smile.<br/>
“It’s alright, I probably shouldn’t have interrupted.”<br/>
Seonghwa chuckled, giving the blonde opposite Mark a smile as he turned his way.<br/>
“I’m sorry for having to ask, but could I borrow your phone for a minute? I accidentally left mine at the hotel room with my… well, the guy I’m seeing, and I need him to bring it to me.”</p><p>
The couple glanced at each other, clearly unsure of whether it was safe to trust Seonghwa, but eventually the blonde ended up pulling out his phone and holding it out for Seonghwa to take.
“<em>Thanks, I owe you one,</em>” he smiled, watching a bit of relief appear on the other’s face at the Korean phrase as Seonghwa entered his own phone number and called it up.</p><p>
“<em>You were successful, I guess?</em>” Wooyoung spoke as soon as the call connected.<br/>
“Hey babe,” Seonghwa replied, chuckling when he heard the other choke on air.<br/>
“<em>Babe? Laying it on a bit thick now, aren’t you?</em>”<br/>
“Yeah, I noticed,” Seonghwa replied, completely ignoring what Wooyoung said in favor of keeping up the charade. “Would you mind bringing it to me now?”<br/>
“<em>This better work…</em>” Wooyoung mumbled, a slightly nervous tinge to his voice. “<em>How far away are you?</em>”<br/>
“Not far, you’ll get here in almost no time at all. Just a second -” he said, tilting the phone away from his face while looking at Mark and the blonde again. “Would you mind if I shared my location and waited with you guys until he gets here?”</p><p>
Mark looked hesitant, but the blonde simply nodded.<br/>
“<em>Go ahead.</em>”<br/>
“<em>Thank you,</em>” he smiled, giving them a thumbs up as he switched back to English, trying to contain a grin as Mark frowned at the blonde who shrugged before taking a bite of the cake in front of him. “I’ll send you my location and you can just follow that, okay?”<br/>
He heard shuffling on the other end, accompanied by an affirmative hum and the sound of a door opening and closing.<br/>
“<em>I’m heading for the elevator now.</em>”<br/>
“I’ll see you soon then.”<br/>
“<em>You better fucking find me if I get lost,</em>” Wooyoung huffed, making Seonghwa chuckle as he ended the call, entering the messaging app and sharing the location with his own phone.</p><p>
“Thanks again,” he smiled, handing the phone back to the blonde before gripping the fence and jumping over it, pulling a chair from another table to sit down with them. Mark gave him another wary look, scanning the piercing in Seonghwa’s eyebrow and the tattoos Seonghwa’s black t-shirt wasn’t covering. The blonde, on the other hand, simply smiled at him.<br/>
“I’m Park Seonghwa, by the way,” Seonghwa said, holding out his hand towards Mark.<br/>
“Mark Jones,” he mumbled, taking Seonghwa’s hand. <em>Yeah I know who the fuck you are,</em> Seonghwa thought, gripping the others hand a little firmer than normal while gleefully noting the small wince he let out, releasing the hand and turning to the blonde instead.<br/>
“Kim Junji,” he said, and while Seonghwa debated gripping his hand as tightly as he had Marks, he decided against it.<br/>
“Nice to meet you. So… what are you doing here in Jeju?”
</p><p>Some small talk later, during which Seonghwa had decided Mark was one of the blandest people he’d ever met and he still for the life of him couldn’t figure out what Wooyoung even saw in him, and that Junji was quite shy and soft spoken... he saw a familiar blonde approach the café.<br/>
“Ah, Woo!” he called out, raising his arm and waving.“Over here!”<br/>
“Seonghwa!” Wooyoung smiled, as Seonghwa wasn’t able to keep himself from grinning when he saw Mark suddenly freezing in his seat. Wooyoung walked up to the table, keeping his eyes focused on Seonghwa until he was right by them… only then did he look at Mark and Junji, gasping out loud.<br/>
“Mark?! What are you doing here?”</p><p>
Seonghwa was impressed. He knew Wooyoung was faking his surprise, but if he hadn’t he would have fallen for the others' act too. He also noted that Wooyoung had changed into another outfit Jongho must have given him, wearing skinny dark jeans and a light green shirt where he’d left the top buttons unbuttoned and... he looked <em>really fucking good </em>in it.<br/>
Mark didn’t say anything, just staring at Wooyoung with an open mouth, while Junjis initial confusion seemed to slowly be replaced by annoyance the longer Mark stared at Wooyoung.</p><p>
“Oh, you know each other?” Seonghwa said, acting surprised as well before chuckling. “What a coincidence!”<br/>
Wooyoung looked at Seonghwa with a smile, before walking over to the opening in the fence and approaching the table. Mark was still stunned into silence and staring, and Seonghwa could see Junji huffing before he looked at Wooyoung with a tight lipped smile.<br/>
“Please, join us.”</p><p>Wooyoung glanced at the unoccupied chairs around them, and Seonghwa fully expected him to also grab one and pull it towards the table like he had - but then Wooyoung walked up to him and sat down in his lap.</p><p><br/>
</p><p>***</p><p><br/>
</p><p>Pretending to be unbothered was harder than Wooyoung thought, and he was glad the sounds from the street drowned out how hard his heart was beating, making sure the others couldn’t hear it - even though he knew it was absolutely ridiculous to think they would. He felt one of Seonghwa’s arms wrap around his waist and whether it was supposed to sell their act or just… be encouraging, Wooyoung wasn’t complaining. It helped knowing he had someone there to back him up.<br/>
He mentally braced himself while placing one of his hands over Seonghwa’s, as a way to ground himself.
</p><p>“What are the odds I’d meet you here of all places! And you,” he smiled, turning to look at the blonde sitting opposite Mark, “you must be the guy who stole Mark’s heart.”<br/>
“Uh… th-this is Junji,” Mark managed to stutter out, still staring at Wooyoung with wide eyes and open mouth.<br/>
“And I didn’t steal anything that didn’t want to be stolen,” Junji countered with a tight-lipped smile, causing Wooyoung to chuckle.<br/>
“Ouch, he’s smart. On top of being handsome and I just <em>bet</em> he’s great at everything too,” Wooyoung said, looking at Mark who suddenly leaned forward, about to reach out for Wooyoung.<br/>
“Look, Wooyoung…”<br/>
“Relax, Mark,” Wooyoung said, holding up his other hand, causing Mark to fall silent right away. “I’m not here to cause a scene, or to fight.”</p><p>
Mark leaned back in his chair again, the shock on his face now joined by slight confusion. Wooyoung sighed, turning the best he could in Seonghwa’s lap to look at him.<br/>
“Hwa, would you mind getting me a coffee?” he smiled.<br/>
“Sure,” Seonghwa smiled, giving Wooyoung’s shoulder a quick peck. Wooyoung slid out of his lap to let him get to his feet, then sat back down and watched Seonghwa head inside the café before turning back to Mark who was still just staring at him.</p><p>
“What?”<br/>
“No, it’s nothing, you just… seem different?” Mark mumbled, as he fidgeted with one of the napkins on the small table.<br/>
“I do?” Wooyoung chuckled, leaning back in the chair while pulling a hand through his hair. “Well, I guess I am going through some type of change after all. See, after you called I decided I was getting on that damn plane and getting you back, no matter how scared I am of flying. I told myself that there’s no way I’m going to let some goddamn asshole steal my fiancé and destroy everything I had worked for… Sorry, the asshole-part was before I knew you.”</p><p>
Wooyoung gave Junji what he hoped seemed like an apologetic smile before turning his attention back to Mark.<br/>
“Anyway. I bought the ticket, somehow managed to get on the plane <em>and</em> cross the ocean, and… then it all went wrong.”<br/>
“Wrong how..?”<br/>
“Doesn’t matter,” Wooyoung waved his hand dismissively while smiling. “But I ended up walking the streets of Seoul, feeling utterly hopeless, all my money gone and honestly… you do a lot of thinking in a moment like that, and I realised every moment of my life up until that point had been trying to protect myself from exactly <em>this </em>situation! And there’s no way it can be done. No home is safe enough, no country is nice enough and no relationship is secure enough - and you’re just setting yourself up for failure while having a really fucking boring time in the process - sorry Mark.”</p><p>
Mark, stunned back into silence just stared at him, and out of the corner of his eye Wooyoung could see Junji picking away at his slice of cake with a frown.<br/>
“Then Seonghwa showed up ,” Wooyoung continued, “and he’s… well, he’s been great, really. Maybe it’s just something to help me get over you and me, but...”
</p><p>Wooyoung looked back at the café door just as Seonghwa came out with the coffee he had asked him to get, giving him a smile in return as their eyes met while feeling his heart lurch in his chest from something that wasn’t nerves.</p><p>“He’s… he’s been amazing.”</p><p>“Oh my god, I can’t believe it worked!” Wooyoung exclaimed, chuckling in disbelief as he walked next to Seonghwa.<br/>
“You were fantastic. He was completely destroyed.”<br/>
“Yeah?”<br/>
“Really,” Seonghwa looked down at Wooyoung, smiling with a softness to his gaze he hadn’t seen in the other before. ”And tomorrow evening you’re having dinner, pretending to go over whatever details you need to about the breakup… I promise, before the night is over you’ll be the king of the castle again.”<br/>
“You really think so?”<br/>
“I know you will,”  Seonghwa said, still smiling even though there was a tone to his voice Wooyoung couldn’t place. “We must celebrate this though! I know I said I was taking you to lunch, but… Ah. I know just the thing. Wait here, don’t move.”<br/>
He gave Wooyoung’s arm a gentle pat before running off, crossing the street and entering what seemed to be a small corner store.</p><p>
Feeling awkward just standing there to wait, Wooyoung ended up taking a seat on a nearby low wall with other people spaced out the entire length of it.</p><p>
“Beautiful day to be here in Jeju, isn’t it Wooyoung?”</p><p>
Shocked at being addressed in English first for once, Wooyoung turned to his left where the voice had come from- instantly meeting the gaze of a guy, seemingly around his own age, with short dark blue hair that almost looked black. He was holding a book in his lap that he closed and put off to the side, leaning back on one of his arms.<br/>
“I’m sorry… do I know you?”</p><p>
“No, but we have a mutual acquaintance,” the man said, nodding towards the corner store Seonghwa had entered. “My name is Kim Hongjoong, and I wanted to talk to you about a necklace.”</p><p><br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hopefully the length and events of this chapter makes up for me posting it late!<br/>i've spent the weekend at mum's place, as yesterday was her birthday, and i forgot to prep the chapter for uploading before going.</p><p>please leave behind a comment if you liked the chapter, and tell me what in particular you enjoyed!</p><p> </p><p>(oh and as a sidenote - hongjoong cut and dyed his hair in between the second chapter and this one, which is why his hairstyle changes. if anyone noticed)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter Eight.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Wooyoung couldn’t help but laugh nervously.<br/>“Oooooh, the necklace... You know, he completely forgot about that and probably should have declared it… is there a large fine or something that he has to pay now?”</p><p>He tried to smile and act ignorant, but the sharp look in Hongjoong’s eyes told him he wasn’t falling for it. With a sigh he crossed his arms.</p><p>“Why don’t you just arrest him then?”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>as a reminder, some important notes for this chapter and upcoming ones:<br/>- as mentioned in chapter two, whenever the pov switches between seonghwa and wooyoung it will be marked by a "***"<br/>- whenever the pov is seonghwa's and the dialogue is in italics, that means they're speaking korean.</p><p>this is another one entirely from wooyoung's pov, but you know, still keeping the reminder in :3</p><p>hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>
</p><p>As Wooyoung continued staring, Hongjoong reached into one of his jacket pockets, pulling out a police badge and holding it up for Wooyoung to see. While Hongjoong was putting it back, Wooyoung couldn’t help but laugh nervously.<br/>
“Oooooh, the necklace... You know, he completely forgot about that and probably should have declared it… is there a large fine or something that he has to pay now?”
</p><p>He tried to smile and act ignorant, but the sharp look in Hongjoong’s eyes told him he wasn’t falling for it. With a sigh he crossed his arms.</p><p>
“Why don’t you just arrest him then?”<br/>
“I owe him a debt,” Hongjoong said, sitting up straight again. “A debt that’s much larger than any sum of money, which is... why I came to you.”<br/>
“To me?!”<br/>
“I was hoping you could talk to him. The necklace can be returned to me anonymously, and he would face no consequences.”</p><p>Wooyoung felt his heart sink, knowing what the necklace meant for Seonghwa and his future plans.<br/>
“He’ll never agree,” he mumbled eventually.<br/>
“I know… but he has to,” Hongjoong said, reaching inside another pocket, pulling out a card and giving it to Wooyoung.  “This is my number. Please, talk to him and call me tomorrow. If I haven’t heard from you by the day after tomorrow... I will be forced to take action.”</p><p>Hongjoong stood up, dusted off his jeans before reaching down to pick up his book. He had already taken a few steps when he stopped and turned around to look at Wooyoung who was still gripping the card so tight it was getting crumpled.<br/>
“It really is a beautiful day though. I... hope you’ll be able to enjoy it.”</p><p>Once Seonghwa returned with ice cream just a moment after Hongjoong had left, Wooyoung was sure the other must have noticed some kind of change in his mood. Luckily he didn’t ask, probably chalking it up to nerves about the upcoming dinner the following night - but when Seonghwa had to repeat what he was saying a second time Wooyoung mentally slapped himself and decided he could figure something out later. It wasn’t like Hongjoong had wanted a response by the end of the day anyway.</p><p>
“Shit, sorry, I wasn’t listening - can you say that again?”<br/>
Seonghwa sighed, but took a bite of his ice cream before pointing at a store they were approaching.<br/>
“This is where I’m planning to sell the necklace in two days.”<br/>
“Oh,” Wooyoung mumbled. Here he was hoping for something to take his mind <em>off</em> the damned thing. “So… it is your necklace?”<br/>
“I inherited it actually. My great aunt lived just outside San Francisco and when she passed away, she left it to me.”</p><p>As much as he wanted to believe Seonghwa, trying to push away the matter of Hongjoong’s appearance earlier, he just... couldn’t. It was so obviously stolen.<br/>
“Uh-huh…” he just hummed in response, eating the ice cream while glancing at the store front as they passed it. How the hell was he going to convince Seonghwa to give the necklace up when he didn’t even know how to bring up the fact that Hongjoong had approached him about it? He cursed the fact that Seonghwa had to open up to him back in Yeosu.</p><p>Going behind his back would have been so much easier if he just didn’t know anything about the man’s past.</p><p>As they reached the restaurant and sat down by their table, Wooyoung forced himself to enjoy the seafood ramen Seonghwa treated him to. The nagging uneasiness never fully left his mind but eventually he was able to relax, smiling to himself as he watched Seonghwa eat while excitedly telling him about all the different kinds of food available in Jeju.<br/>
Suddenly, like lightning from clear skies, an idea struck and Wooyoung knew what he had to do.</p><p>“Hey Seonghwa…”<br/>
The other made a noise as if to continue, while slurping up his ramen and throwing a glance at Wooyoung from underneath the fringe falling in his eyes.<br/>
“What if… I… sell the necklace for you?”<br/>
Seonghwa sat up straighter, looking a bit confused as he swallowed the food.<br/>
“You? Why?”<br/>
“I just… uh. No offense but... I’m me, while… you are…. you.”</p><p>Seonghwa frowned, looking back down at his bowl as he poked a clam with his chopsticks. Almost a minute passed without him saying anything at all in response and Wooyoung was just about to tell him to forget about it, that it was a dumb suggestion anyway, when Seonghwa nodded.<br/>
“Sure.”<br/>
“Wait, really?”<br/>
“Yeah,” Seonghwa looked at him with a smile. “It makes sense - fancy place like that would probably want to kick me out just for breathing because of the way I look. You on the other hand…”<br/>
Seonghwa gestured towards Wooyoung with his empty hand.<br/>
“You’d be perfect. Thank you.”</p><p>Wooyoung managed to stay relaxed for the rest of the day - after they finished eating they had ended up just walking around and exploring the city, Seonghwa pointing out the occasional place he remembered from an old trip he’d made with Yunho and his parents.<br/>
After returning to the hotel both warm and exhausted they ended up collapsed on the bed, turning on the tv to pass time - and while Wooyoung obviously didn’t understand much of any of the Korean shows, Seonghwa did his best to explain any of the jokes he was chuckling at. It didn’t take long before he switched to a totally different channel mainly showing movies, and Wooyoung was relieved to find they weren’t dubbed… even if he wasn’t paying much attention.</p><p>Now that he had nothing else to distract him, his thoughts went back to having met Hongjoong and the ultimatum the other had set, while being so acutely aware of the card with the man’s phone number that it almost felt like it was burning a hole where it was in his pocket.</p><p>He must have dozed off at one point, because suddenly Seonghwa was nudging him gently in an attempt to wake him up. Wooyoung groaned, grimacing at the fuzzy feeling of sleep in his mouth as he opened one eye to peek at the man sitting up in the bed next to him with a vague smile.</p><p>“Have a good nap?”<br/>
“How long was I asleep?” Wooyoung mumbled, rubbing his face in the pillow as Seonghwa chuckled.<br/>
“Two hours? You missed the ending of the movie.”<br/>
“Oh. What happened?”<br/>
“The zombie guy ended up turning human again and they lived ‘happily ever after’,” Seonghwa shrugged, making air quotation marks. “It was alright.”</p><p>Wooyoung simply hummed in response, looking at Seonghwa again when he felt the others weight disappear from the bed as he walked over to the hotel room’s window. The sun must have set fairly recently because the sky was tinted yellow and orange, fading into a soft purple and he tried to keep himself from staring at Seonghwa as the sunset almost made it look like he was glowing.</p><p>“Golden hour indeed…” he mumbled, causing Seonghwa to glance at him with a raised eyebrow.<br/>
“Did you say something?”<br/>
“Nothing important. Just don’t feel like getting up,” he quickly lied.<br/>
Seonghwa didn’t look fully convinced, but instead of probing for an answer he just raised his arms above his head, stretching while letting a yawn escape as Wooyoung caught a second glimpse of the hip tattoo when the other’s shirt got lifted up.</p><p>“Wooyoung?”</p><p>Shit. He had gotten so caught up in looking, <em>again</em>, that he had completely missed the others question.<br/>
“Yeah?” he said, feeling a slight blush creep onto his features, Seonghwa just shaking his head with a smile.<br/>
“Are you hungry? I was thinking we could go get dinner.”</p><p>Wooyoung thought for a second - going out would help clearing the still present drowsiness after his unplanned nap… but he also realised the opportunity he had of being left alone in the room.<br/>
He sat up in the bed, making a show of groaning and rubbing his temple.<br/>
“I am hungry, but that unplanned nap gave me a headache,” he sighed, seeing concern on Seonghwa’s face. “I’ll be okay! I just think I’ll stay back and rest instead.”<br/>
“Are you sure?” Seonghwa asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to Wooyoung with his brows furrowed, reaching out to smooth out his bed head after the nap, causing Wooyoung to freeze - and when the other noticed he cleared his throat and withdrew his hand. “I just… the fresh air might help.”</p><p>Wooyoung, completely unprepared for the other’s caring gesture, had underestimated how much he missed the sensation of someone playing with his hair, and almost considered for a moment asking Seonghwa to just... stay, order room service and continue what he had been doing. Instead he shook his head, both to clear out the intruding thoughts and to respond.</p><p>“It might, but I’d rather just stay here. With the headache I don’t want to be surrounded by possibly loud people either. You can go though! Just bring me something back. Please?”<br/>
“Alright,” the other sighed, getting up from the bed and reaching for the leather jacket that he had thrown over one of the armchairs in the room. “Anything in particular you want?”<br/>
“Surprise me?” Wooyoung smiled, making Seonghwa break out in a small laugh.<br/>
“Okay. I’ll see what I can do, you just rest.”</p><p>Wooyoung hummed, watching Seonghwa leave the hotel room with a small wave before closing the door.</p><p>He sat completely still for a moment, then slowly got out of bed and moved towards the door, opening it and peeking out into the corridor. No Seonghwa anywhere. Pulling the door shut, he took out the card from the pocket in his jeans as he crossed the room with quick steps, heading for the phone next to the tv. As he muted the ongoing movie, he read the instructions for making outgoing calls and punching in the numbers listed on the card before he had time to change his mind.</p><p>It didn’t take long before the call connected, someone speaking in quick Korean but Wooyoung was able to recognise and understand one thing - the name Kim Hongjoong.</p><p>“Uhm… hi, this is Wooyoung? We met earlier today and you gave me your card?”<br/>
“<em>Ah, hello!</em>” the other switched over to English right away. “<em>I’m glad you called. Have you talked to Seonghwa?</em>”<br/>
“Not… exactly,” Wooyoung sighed, sinking down on the foot end of the bed.<br/>
“<em>Okay… I’m sorry, but why exactly are you calling me if you haven’t?</em>”</p><p>He could hear the confusion, slightly tinged with annoyance, in the other’s voice and Wooyoung pinched the bridge of his nose. This was it.</p><p>“Because I want to get the necklace to you… but I’m around Seonghwa 24/7 most of the time and unless I want him to know, I’m going to need your help pulling it off.”<br/>
“<em>Well then… I’m all ears. What do you have planned?</em>”</p><p><br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>compared to the last chapter, which was somewhat of a beast among all of the chapters in this fic, this was a short one... but i hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.</p><p>we're nearing the end! only two more chapters to go after this now!<br/>hopefully i can finish off chapter 10 this weekend because i'm about halfway through :3</p><p>PLEASE, if you enjoyed this chapter, leave a comment - nothing makes me happier than knowing people enjoyed my writing, and the comments i've gotten so far has been an immense help in making me write past chapter seven 🥺😭</p><p>and as a final note - happy birthday to the best leader, hongjoong! ❤️✨</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter Nine.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Wooyoung bit at his lip with a frown on his face, as Seonghwa gently grabbed his wrist.<br/>“I want you to wear it, just for tonight,” he mumbled, wrapping the necklace around Wooyoung’s wrist and fastening the clasps. “It will be your good luck-charm.”</p><p>Seonghwa rubbed his thumbs over the necklace on Wooyoung’s wrist, let out a small chuckle as he looked up at the other man.<br/>“You look good wearing my future.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>as a reminder, some important notes for this chapter and upcoming ones:<br/>- as mentioned in chapter two, whenever the pov switches between seonghwa and wooyoung it will be marked by a "***"<br/>- whenever the pov is seonghwa's and the dialogue is in italics, that means they're speaking korean.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>
</p><p>“Wooyoung?” </p><p>Seonghwa knocked on the bathroom door, hearing the muffled noises stop from whatever the man on the other side of the door was doing.<br/>
“Want anything to drink when you’re done?”<br/>
There was a faint hum as a response and Seonghwa had just turned around when the other called out after him.<br/>
“You better not try to get me drunk again like you did on the plane.”<br/>
Seonghwa chuckled, shaking his head as he walked over to the minibar in their room, but the smile died down as he opened the small fridge and knelt down to get a proper look of what it was stocked with.</p><p>Something had been off with Wooyoung ever since the day before, and Seonghwa didn’t know what the hell had happened. He kept telling himself it was all due to nerves from the dinner with Mark that was supposed to happen in little less than two hours, but it made no sense as to why he kept avoiding having to meet Seonghwa’s gaze. </p><p>
Then again… maybe he had just realised he would be rid of Seonghwa soon, finally flying back to the US and getting back to his normal life.<br/>
Something unpleasant in Seonghwa stirred at the thought, making him shake his head as he opened the bottle of wine he’d pulled from the minibar and began pouring the content into glasses.</p><p>As the bathroom door opened behind him, Seonghwa took a deep breath, forcing himself to smile before turning around with the glasses of wine  and he damn near dropped them to the floor.<br/>
<em>Jongho, you motherfucker - </em></p><p>“Well?” Wooyoung asked, rolling up the sleeve on the snakeskin-patterned shirt he was wearing. He had left the two buttons at the top unbuttoned, and tucked the end of the shirt into what was frankly sinfully tight faux leather pants. “How does it look?”<br/>
“Great,” Seonghwa cleared his throat, holding out one of the glasses. “You, uh... you look great.”<br/>
“I wasn’t sure about the print at first, but I think I pulled it off.”</p><p><em>You do, and I want to pull it off of you,</em> Seonghwa thought for a split second before mentally slapping himself.</p><p>
“Was that among the clothes Jongho gave you?” he said instead, as he sipped on the wine to make sure he didn’t say anything stupid.<br/>
“Yeah, it was,” Wooyoung nodded, before chuckling and smiling so wide his eyes turned into small crescents. “Or rather, he pulled me off to the side and shoved this outfit into my arms as you and Yunho cleaned up after dinner, and made me promise to wear it when I see Mark. He said I would be irresistible to anyone in it.”</p><p>As usual, Jongho had seen <em>right</em> through Seonghwa and the outfit was just as much for Wooyoung to tease Seonghwa with - unknowingly, of course - as it was to show Mark what he had given up.<br/>
“Well, he’s right,” Seonghwa replied,putting the glass down on the table before reaching over and picking up the diamond necklace. “I just think it needs one more thing.”</p><p>
“Seonghwa… I don’t think that’s a good idea.”<br/>
Wooyoung bit at his lip with a frown on his face, as Seonghwa gently grabbed his wrist.<br/>
“I want you to wear it, just for tonight,” he mumbled, wrapping the necklace around Wooyoung’s wrist and fastening the clasp. “It will be your good luck-charm.”</p><p>
Seonghwa rubbed his thumbs over the necklace on Wooyoung’s wrist, let out a small chuckle as he looked up at the other man.<br/>
“You look good wearing my future.”<br/>
Wooyoung seemed to choke on air, a faint blush on his cheeks spreading as he broke their eye contact.</p><p>“Shut up,” he muttered, sipping on his wine as he noticed the items Seonghwa had spread out on the foot end of the bed. “What’s this?”<br/>
“Ah.” Seonghwa gestured towards the chair in front of the room's built-in vanity table. “Please sit.<br/>
The blonde eyed Seonghwa suspiciously but walked over and sat down anyway.<br/>
“I thought, with everything that’s at stake tonight…” Seonghwa continued, “I would do your hair and makeup.”</p><p>There was obvious confusion on Wooyoung’s face.<br/>
“You… sorry, what?”<br/>
“I’ll do your makeup,” Seonghwa replied, pushing Wooyoung’s hair away from his face before picking up a moisturiser from the scattered items on the bed. “And your hair.”<br/>
“I… uh…” Wooyoung eyed the moisturiser suspiciously as Seonghwa opened it and scooped out a small amount.<br/>
“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything crazy. Just some shadow and eyeliner.”<br/>
“It’s not that, I promise,” Wooyoung closed his eyes with a smile playing at the corner of his lips as Seonghwa started spreading the moisturiser on his face. “I’m just surprised you know how.”<br/>
“I’m a man of many talents. I was also thinking we could… practice for your dinner with Mark?”</p><p>
Wooyoung’s smile faded, but he nodded.</p><p>“Okay,” Seonghwa reached for the cushion foundation he’d brought along and started gently patting it onto Wooyoung’s face. “So to set the scene - I’ll be Mark, you’re… you. Obviously. We’re at dinner, I’m starting to realise what an idiot I’ve been to let you go, an absolutely mindless, worthless, stupid…”<br/>
“Yeah yeah, I get the point,” Wooyoung interrupted with a frown.<br/>
“Alright, so… it’s feeling good, being with you again. Now… what do you say?”<br/>
He turned back to the bed, looking for the setting powder while waiting for Wooyoung to respond.</p><p>
“I… I don’t know anymore.”<br/>
“You don’t?”<br/>
Seonghwa turned around to see Wooyoung chewing on his lip while shaking his head, eyes still pressed shut.<br/>
“Like… I don’t know when to stop pretending? When do I tell him that…”<br/>
“That you only love him? That you still… want him?”<br/>
Wooyoung nodded, to which Seonghwa let out an inaudible sigh, heart clenching painfully as he started gently sweeping the powder over the other's face.<br/>
“You will know the moment,” he said softly.</p><p>They both stayed silent as Seonghwa finished off the face make up and started on the eyeshadow. He had just picked up the eyeliner when Wooyoung opened one eye to peek at him.<br/>
“Where did you even learn to do this?” he asked, before Seonghwa motioned at him to close his eyes again, applying the black eyeliner and slightly smudging it out along the upper lash line.<br/>
“My mother. I used to watch her get ready as a child, then she even let me play around with it sometimes. I’m nowhere near a professional’s level, but… Open your eyes for a moment.”<br/>
As Wooyoung did, Seonghwa took a step back to inspect his work before giving Wooyoung a content nod.<br/>
“I think that’s it. Check in the mirror if you want.”</p><p>Wooyoung hesitantly turned towards the mirror, letting out a soft gasp before scooting closer to the edge of the chair so he could get a closer look.</p><p>
“....wow.”<br/>
“Is that a good or bad ‘wow’?”<br/>
“Oh, it’s a good one, I - wow, I can’t believe this is ME,” Wooyoung said in disbelief while turning his left and right. “I’ve never looked this good before!”<br/>
“Please,” Seonghwa snorted while shaking his head. “I only brought out what was already there. Your hair is next now.”<br/>
Wooyoung stopped twisting and threw a glance in Seonghwa’s direction through the mirror's reflection.<br/>
“If you’re half as good with hair as you were with the makeup…”<br/>
Seonghwa simply chuckled, picking up the small round brush and hairdryer and getting to work. </p><p>The loud noise of the blowdryer prevented any kind of conversation, so it wasn’t before Seonghwa had finished drying it in a slicked back style, and picked up the pomade that it could continue.<br/>
“I will also do something tonight, to… make sure victory will be yours,” Seonghwa said, rubbing the pomade into his hands before working it into Wooyoung’s hair to ensure the style would last all night.<br/>
“What’s that?”<br/>
“Junji.”</p><p>Wooyoung pulled back, frowning as he looked up at Seonghwa from where he was sitting.<br/>
“Junji?”<br/>
“Yeah,“ Seonghwa nodded, adjusting a few stray pieces of hair. “He’ll probably be frustrated tonight, annoyed -  maybe even sad. I will find him and… comfort him.”</p><p>
He could see Wooyoung clenching his jaw and he turned back to the bed to pick up the hairspray. Seonghwa had hesitated telling him about it ever since the plan had originated in his head earlier. It’s not like he wanted to, but...<br/>
“I hope you won’t have to do anything too unpleasant.”<br/>
“...I’d do it for you,” Seonghwa replied in a low voice as he added hairspray as the finishing touch.<br/>
“What about that little problem of yours?”<br/>
“My little problem… isn’t a problem anymore.”<br/>
“Oh?” Wooyoung raised an eyebrow, an expression on his face that Seonghwa wasn’t able to read.
</p><p><em>‘It’s because of you,’</em> Seonghwa wanted to confess, so badly - but instead he forced a smile as he threw the hairspray back on the bed.<br/>
“Because I’m like you, I feel refreshed, like I’m a new man of sorts. So, I’ll find Junji, talk to him, and if the conversation goes really well I’ll take him back to -”<br/>
“Alright, stop, I get it,” Wooyoung frowned. “You don’t have to say anything else.”<br/>
As Wooyoung turned back to the mirror to inspect the hair, Seonghwa started packing up all the makeup and hair products he’d scattered over the bed, placing them in a toiletry bag.</p><p>
“Speaking of, I… booked another hotel room for the night,” he eventually said, seeing Wooyoung freeze out of the corner of his eye. “I’ll move all my things there, so if your date with Mark ends up going the way we, uh… hope it will… you can bring him back here.”</p><p>Again, Wooyoung kept staring at him with that same unreadable expression and Seonghwa started to feel uncomfortable. Clearing his throat, he threw the toiletry bag in his larger bag as he attempted another smile.</p><p>“Come on, it’s time to go. Don’t keep Mark waiting.”</p><p><br/>
</p><p>***</p><p><br/>
</p><p>“Hey, what do you think - instead of just dividing up all the shit we bought together, I sell the lot and send you half the money?” Wooyoung looked up from his plate of pasta, shooting off a smile in Mark’s direction. “I mean, money would be more useful for you anyway if you’re planning to start a new life, right?”<br/>
Mark chuckled nervously, his own plate of food almost untouched as he kept fiddling with the napkin lying next to it instead.<br/>
“Right.”<br/>
“Alright, that’s decided then,” Wooyoung nodded as he reached for his wine glass, but Mark’s hand shot out and took hold of his hand before he was able to.<br/>
“Please, Woo… can we talk about something else? This is all so depressing.”</p><p>Wooyoung had to force himself not to roll his eyes. Instead he smiled, clenching his teeth while picking up the wine glass with his other hand.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Mark, but breaking up is depressing. Something you should have been prepared for since you’re the reason we’re even here discussing this in the first place.”<br/>
Taking a sip of his wine, Wooyoung felt a surge of delight as his words made Mark look like he had been slapped across the face.<br/>
“It’s not my fault if you can’t handle it.”</p><p>
Pulling his hand free from Mark’s grip, Wooyoung continued eating as Mark seemed to be fighting some kind of inner battle opposite him.<br/>
“You must hate me,” the man suddenly exclaimed.<br/>
“Hate you?” Wooyoung laughed. “Why would I?”<br/>
“You… you don’t?”<br/>
“Oh believe me, I did at first. But now I’m just kind of… eh, I’m over it.”</p><p>And as soon as the words left Wooyoung’s mouth, he realised they were true. He was finally here, sitting opposite the man he at one point thought he’d spend the rest of his life with… and he didn’t care. Just days ago he was still worrying about whether all his chances had been blown, and now - this?<br/>
The thought somehow terrified him, so he just shoved it away and went back to his pasta, taking a bite while letting out a content sigh.<br/>
“This is good. It might even be better than our usual place back in - wait, are you crying?”<br/>
Wooyoung had looked up from his food only to see a very shiny-eyed Mark meeting his gaze.<br/>
“Huh? Oh no, I’m not… I’m not crying,” he replied, taking a ragged breath as he shook his head. “It’s just… I feel so horribly guilty for what I did and I -”<br/>
“You should.”</p><p>Mark gasped in shock as Wooyoung put his fork back down before leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.<br/>
“Mark, we were together for almost seven years, and engaged for two of them. If you didn’t feel a speck of guilt for what you put me through, I’d be really worried for your mental health.”<br/>
The other man continued to just stare, seemingly stunned into silence for a moment. Then he cleared his throat, finally reaching for his own glass of wine.<br/>
“Well... I’m sorry,” Mark mumbled under his breath before taking a sip of the wine.</p><p><em>’Sorry isn’t good enough’</em>, Wooyoung thought to himself, watching with a clenched jaw as Mark finally started eating his pasta that surely had grown cold by now, but he also knew it was time to calm down.</p><p>Seonghwa had told him he would know when it was time to drop the act, but the fact of the matter was that Wooyoung didn’t even think he was acting anymore. A part of him had imagined that as soon as he and Mark sat down to eat he would feel nothing but relief being with him again, and that after some acting Mark would pretty much fall back into his arms and Junji would be history.</p><p>
But the other part of Wooyoung… wanted nothing of it, at all, and he kept drifting back to memories of the moments he’d had with Seonghwa during the past week. He had a constantly sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach at the thought of where the man was right now, and what he was doing - <em>who </em>he was doing. </p><p>He had not expected it, but he knew it was pointless to deny it now. He had caught feelings for Seonghwa, and he felt so stupid for having latched onto someone who had only showed him kindness because there was something for them to gain in doing so.<br/>
Even now, Wooyoung was sure Seonghwa only stuck around and played nice because he had promised he’d sell the necklace the following day… a promise he would be breaking. Provided Hongjoong had managed to make all the arrangements in time.</p><p>Wooyoung continued eating the last remaining pieces of the food on his plate, throwing glances at Mark who gave him nervous smiles each time their gazes met.<br/>
Maybe... the affection he once felt for Mark would return in full, if he could just forget about Seonghwa for one single moment. Yes, that must be it.</p><p>So he took a deep breath, reached over to grab Mark’s hand and, as the man looked up from his plate with a slightly confused expression, Wooyoung spoke in a low voice.</p><p>
“What would you say… if I suggested we get out of here and go back to the hotel?”</p><p><br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>just one chapter remains now! i can't believe we're already here D:</p><p>i hope you enjoyed the chapter, and <i>please</i> leave a comment if you did! ❤️✨</p><p>i also figured i would share <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1V-H9aKIpf5OBcbYbeAKpoOkJHU_pbxEdjZxpXQzpSZ4/edit?usp=sharing">this presentation i made</a>, with all the references i've gathered for the fic - in case anyone is curious how i've imagined things! (there's a slide explaining seonghwa's tattoos as well lol)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter Ten.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“It went well,” he said, chewing on one of the pieces. “He… he wants to come back.”<br/>Seonghwa’s heart sank fully, but he forced the smile to stay on his face.</p><p>“Congratulations. I’m happy for you.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>as a reminder, some important notes for this chapter and upcoming ones:<br/>- as mentioned in chapter two, whenever the pov switches between seonghwa and wooyoung it will be marked by a "***"<br/>- whenever the pov is seonghwa's and the dialogue is in italics, that means they're speaking korean.</p><p> </p><p>some tw/cw for this chapter - PLEASE READ BEFORE MOVING ON TO THE CHAPTER:<br/>- VERY mild sexual content at the beginning and a reference later on, but like... it's seriously so mild i'm not sure it even needs a warning?<br/>- one person changes their mind about having sex and while the other party doesn't register it at first, it's basically resolved immediately and then respected.<br/>- another cw for smoking later on in the chapter</p><p>please let me know if there's anything you feel i need to add!</p><p>with that out of the way... please enjoy the chapter :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>
</p><p>Wooyoung didn’t know how long it took for them to get back to the hotel room, but here he was now, falling back on the bed as Mark climbed on top of him.<br/>
“God, Woo, you’re so different,” the other moaned as he dove back in to kiss Wooyoung, before moving over to the column of his neck, leaving sloppy, open-mouthed kisses in his trail. “But somehow also the same? It’s like… someone has turned on a light inside of you...”</p><p>Mark continued pawing at his clothes, mumbling how amazing Wooyoung looked and how good he was.<br/>
“Why wasn’t I the one… Please, forgive me… I must have been absolutely insane,” he kept repeating as he unbuttoned the shirt Wooyoung was wearing, all while pressing kisses to his chest and trailing lower as the shirt opened. But when Mark started fumbling with the button on Wooyoung’s jeans, he couldn’t take it anymore.</p><p>Even though Mark had agreed to leaving early, he had seemed somewhat hesitant at first as they began the walk back to the hotel. On the verge of becoming even more annoyed than he already was, Wooyoung had started making small advances and left teasing touches on the other. </p><p>By the time they reached the hotel Mark had been so worked up he had almost attacked Wooyoung in the elevator, not even easing him into the full blown make out session.</p><p>
Wooyoung had felt very pleased with himself at first, seeing the effect he’d had on the other. But the longer it went on, the more his skin started crawling on top of the unease growing in his stomach and by the time he’d managed to get the door open to his - <em>and Seonghwa’s</em> - hotel room, he’d almost wanted to just slam the door in Mark’s face. Still…  something in him had urged him on, begging to see if his feelings would change.</p><p>Clearly they didn’t.</p><p>It just felt wrong, lying down on the bed made it worse because now he could smell the faintest traces of Seonghwa’s cologne on the bed sheets and his brain just kept screaming -</p><p>“Mark, stop,” he groaned, lightly trying to push the other off at first, but Mark didn’t seem to notice, not hearing Wooyoung over his own mumbling of how sorry he was. After another slightly more forceful push, he really couldn’t stand Mark’s touches or slobbering  anymore and shoved him away harshly.<br/>
“I said, STOP!”<br/>
“Woo, what -,”</p><p>Mark looked confused as Wooyoung sat up, pulling the unbuttoned shirt around him as he inched away from Mark while breathing heavily.</p><p>“Why? Why wasn’t it you?”<br/>
“What? I don’t understand.”<br/>
“Oh for fuck’s - you said it’s like someone turned on a light inside of me. Why wasn’t that you?” Wooyoung said while starting to button his shirt back up. “The <em>light</em> that’s apparently so strong you suddenly can’t resist dumping your new fiancé for your old one?”<br/>
“...what?” </p><p>Wooyoung sighed, seconds away from wanting to punch Mark in his ever so confused face.</p><p>“12 hours ago you wanted nothing but Junji. So why the fuck would you change your mind now?”<br/>
Some realisation finally seemed to have struck Mark, as he sat back on his heels and rubbed the back of his neck.<br/>
“Well, Junji is… great. He's wonderful and exciting, and… I guess I just wasn’t thinking when I met him? Sometimes you just… do things, and you don’t think about them - it’s just something you <em>have</em> to do, you have to act on what you’re feeling…”</p><p>Well, Wooyoung could relate to that part. It was, after all, the very thing he had felt when he’d made the decision to follow Mark to South Korea.<br/>
His thought process was interrupted when Mark suddenly cleared his throat.<br/>
“Maybe… maybe I was afraid of where <em>we</em> were going, you know? It just got so serious... Maybe I was afraid of actually getting married.”<br/>
“Mark…” Wooyoung sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.<br/>
“Yeah?”<br/>
“You weren’t afraid of getting married to him.”</p><p>Mark, who had just started to lean forward as if planning to move closer to Wooyoung, froze again. Wooyoung let out another sigh and got up from the bed, smoothing out the shirt before turning back around to face Mark.<br/>
“Look, Mark… no matter how different I look to you tonight, I’m still the same person I used to be? The same old me from yesterday, that you’d end up with tomorrow, who still wants the same things I always have…”</p><p>With a sigh he crossed his arms. This was it.<br/>
“There’s just one thing I don’t want anymore.”
</p><p>Mark let out a deep sigh, pointing to himself with a tilt of his head.<br/>
“I’m sorry,” Wooyoung replied, as he bent over to pick up the jacket Mark had thrown off himself when they first got back to the room, before holding it out to the other. “But we’re done, this is over… and I’ really want you to leave now.”</p><p><br/>
</p><p>***</p><p><br/>
</p><p>It was with heavy steps Seonghwa entered the hotel restaurant the following morning. If he was completely honest with himself, he’d rather run the opposite direction. Nothing terrified him more than hearing how the previous evening had gone for Wooyoung… but he <em>had</em> to know.<br/>
After all, the thing he wanted most was for Wooyoung to be happy.</p><p>Even if it wasn’t with him. At least, that’s what Seonghwa kept trying to tell himself.</p><p>His heart felt like it both sank and soared at the same time as he caught sight of the familiar blonde, sitting by one of the tables by the window and tearing away pieces of a bread roll.<br/>
He approached the table, forcing himself to smile.</p><p>“Good morning.”<br/>
Wooyoung, swallowing the piece of bread he’d been chewing, smiled and gestured for Seonghwa to sit down.<br/>
“Morning. Want anything?”<br/>
Seonghwa just shook his head. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to stomach anything right now.<br/>
“No, I’m okay. So, uh… how did yesterday go? What happened?”</p><p>Wooyoung went back to tearing off pieces of bread.<br/>
“It went well,” he said, chewing on one of the pieces. “He… he wants to come back.”<br/>
Seonghwa’s heart sank fully, but he forced the smile to stay on his face.<br/>
“Congratulations. I’m happy for you.”</p><p>Wooyoung looked him over for a couple seconds, reaching over for the cup of coffee in front of him before pointing in the direction of Seonghwa’s neck.<br/>
“I take it your evening went well too? That small problem of yours is gone completely?”</p><p>Seonghwa frowned, not understanding what Wooyoung was pointing out at first. Then realisation struck, causing him to reach over and grab the knife from Wooyoung’s plate.<br/>
Yeah, there it was, clear as day even though the knife’s reflection was shitty - Junji had managed to give him a hickey at some point the night before.</p><p>
“Can’t believe I missed that,” Seonghwa said, trying to appear unbothered as Wooyoung took sips of his coffee. “But yes, totally back in business.”<br/>
“Good for you,” Wooyoung mumbled, putting the cup back on the table. “Well, we should get going. We need to get your necklace sold, before…”<br/>
“Before what?”<br/>
Seonghwa sat up a little straighter as he watched Wooyoung pick at his napkin with a frown.<br/>
“I’m going back. Today. Booked a last minute-ticket last night.”</p><p>If Seonghwa’s heart had sunk earlier, this made it completely shatter. Of course he’d want to leave as soon as possible now that… now that he had gotten Mark back.</p><p>“I… see…” he forced himself to say, as Wooyoung smiled.<br/>
“Mark went to get all his things ready. I’ll be meeting him at the airport later, I told him I still had things to do here.”<br/>
“Wooyoung, if you’d rather go and let me take care of it…”</p><p>“No!” Wooyoung exclaimed with such force it took them both by surprise, and the tables closest to theirs momentarily fell silent. </p><p>When those people went back to their own conversations after some odd looks, Wooyoung cleared his throat and continued.<br/>
“I mean… I promised that I’d help you sell it. It’s the least I could do for everything you’ve done for me.”<br/>
“But…”<br/>
“No buts,” Wooyoung replied with a stern voice as he got up. “Besides, good luck selling it without me since I’m the one who’s currently possessing it.”<br/>
He took a few steps, stopping as he was next to Seonghwa and looking down at him.<br/>
“I’m going back to the room for my bag. I’ll see you in the lobby in a couple of minutes.”</p><p>As Seonghwa watched Wooyoung walk out of the restaurant, he slumped back in his seat and rubbed his face with a groan.</p><p>This was exactly what they had been working towards the entire time and now Seonghwa absolutely hated himself for allowing his feelings for Wooyoung to get as bad as they did. He was never for Seonghwa to have in the first place, he was always going to slip out of his grasp eventually… and despite mentioning it the evening before, he was sure Wooyoung looked at him differently now that he believed something had happened with Junji.</p><p>Speaking of, that was a whole other mess entirely. </p><p>Seonghwa let out another groan as he remembered how he’d found Junji at the hotel bar the previous night, and after some chatting and flirting that had escalated, he’d found himself in bed with the other  - surprisingly very enthusiastic - man. He had honestly not realised there were any marks left on him after the encounter.<br/>
Especially because he had majorly fucked things up as soon as they got to the other room he’d paid for. Junji had been in the process of going down on him… and then Seonghwa’s stupid fucking brain decided it was a good idea to accidentally moan <em>Wooyoung’s</em> name. 
Junji had frozen in place, then climbed out of bed, gathered whatever clothes had been scattered and left the room without another word - or even another look at Seonghwa.</p><p>And now Seonghwa was sitting here, about to lose one of the few things in a couple of years that he felt had given some kind of meaning  to his life - and there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it.</p><p>How could he? Compared to all their previous history and what Mark had to offer in general, Seonghwa had nothing.</p><p>Nothing but his heart, anyway.</p><p><br/>
</p><p>***</p><p><br/>
</p><p>“You know, it wasn’t easy to achieve this.”</p><p>As soon as Wooyoung had entered the jewellery store and introduced himself, one of the jewelers brought him to a room in the back. Hongjoong was already sitting there, waiting, and gestured for him to sit down before saying something to the jeweler who had nodded and left them alone.<br/>
Wooyoung responded to the man’s remark with an apologetic smile.<br/>
“I know, and I’m sorry about that. But it looks like you still managed?”</p><p>Hongjoong let out a snort just as the jeweler re-entered the room, holding an envelope. He took it, said what Wooyoung was pretty sure meant thank you (if Yunho and Jongho indeed had taught him the right phrases), and then placed the envelope on the desk in between them.<br/>
“Yes… and no.”<br/>
Wooyoung, who had just been on the verge of reaching out for the envelope, froze as he shot the man a panicked look.<br/>
“No? Is there a problem?”<br/>
“Well, I managed to contact that buyer you mentioned,” Hongjoong explained. “He was surprised and honestly quite suspicious you weren’t contacting him yourself. Once I’d explained who I was, what I do, and that I was acting on your behalf, he warmed up to me. That proxy you managed to send me definitely helped as well… despite being written on a hotel notepad. We managed to come to an agreement.”</p><p>The proxy was something Hongjoong suggested Wooyoung really should make so he’d be able to act in his stead, along with more detailed descriptions as to what Wooyoung wanted. He had quickly written it all out before Seonghwa returned that day, and later the same night brought the man’s phone with him to the bathroom - all so he could photograph everything and email them to Hongjoong. Afterwards he’d deleted every trace of it and put the phone back, with Seonghwa none the wiser of what had happened.</p><p>Just like Wooyoung had wanted.</p><p>“So… if you managed to contact Matthews and he agreed, what is the problem?”<br/>
“Due to it being such short notice, he was only able to pay an advance - a small one,” Hongjoong glanced at the envelope and tapped it. “This here is a check for 30 000 US dollars, and it was all he could do - for now. His bank transferred the money, and the staff here agreed to issue the check in exchange. The illusion is complete.”</p><p>The panic that had been building up in Wooyoung’s chest started dissipating, and he let out a sigh of relief as he leaned down to retrieve the diamond necklace from his bag. It might not be much, but at least it was <em>something</em>.<br/>
“Thank you,” he smiled, holding it out for Hongjoong to take and was handed the envelope with the check in return.<br/>
“You’re welcome,” the other man replied, studying the necklace for a moment before turning his gaze back to Wooyoung. “Can I ask you something? Why are you doing this?”<br/>
Wooyoung gave a small shrug as he put the check into a pocket in his jacket, but Hongjoong leaned back in his seat with crossed arms and continued.</p><p>“You sold your <em>dance studio</em>, for a man who you’ve just met? Chances are you’ll never even see him again. Matthews told me he was shocked you were selling, because when he’d approached you last year you had told him you were never going to, ever. So… why?”<br/>
“I… I don’t know,” Wooyoung shrugged again, smiling apologetically.</p><p>But he did.</p><p>He knew that Seonghwa giving up the necklace willingly had as much of a chance as a snowball in hell, so Wooyoung had decided to just not ever bring up meeting Hongjoong. There was <em>no way</em> he had ever planned on stabbing Seonghwa in the back by simply handing in the necklace to the police, and he sure as hell wasn’t about to let the man go to prison either.</p><p>Because in the end, it didn’t matter that he had met Seonghwa barely a week ago, and that he had hated the man’s guts at first. Somewhere between that flight and where they were now, Wooyoung had fallen in love with him - and it was both unexpected... and so fucking inconvenient.</p><p>Hence Wooyoung had done the only thing he could think of - he’d given up his own dream so Seonghwa could fulfill his.<br/>
Temporarily at least. He could always start over somewhere else with the rest of the money he’d get from Matthews. </p><p>That’s if he even wanted to have his own studio again. </p><p>For the first time since Wooyoung had entered the room that day, Hongjoong smiled, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. It felt like he was looking straight through him, reading Wooyoung like an open book.</p><p>“I see. I think I can understand.”</p><p>
Wooyoung didn’t feel ready in the slightest to answer any other related questions, so he cleared his throat, stood up and thanked the other for the help.<br/>
“Just because I’m curious,” Wooyoung spoke up as the man followed him to the door, curiosity getting the better of him. “Exactly how much is that necklace worth?”<br/>
“According to my sources… over 100 000 dollars?”<br/>
“...oh.”<br/>
Seonghwa would probably not be as pleased as Wooyoung first thought.</p><p>...and Wooyoung assumed correctly. He wasn’t.</p><p>“What the - 30 000 dollars?!” Seonghwa exclaimed, exasperated, while clutching the check Wooyoung had just handed him as he stared at it furiously, almost like he wished it would make the numbers change. “This - I - you can’t be serious!”<br/>
Wooyoung scratched the back of his neck nervously as Seonghwa let out a string of what was probably curses in Korean, before he slumped down on the park bench next to where they were standing.</p><p>“The jeweller said… at least I think he said… there were… flaws?”<br/>
“Flaws?” Seonghwa looked up from the check with such intensity Wooyoung almost took a step back.<br/>
“I mean, I could have misunderstood since I don’t know Korean and he tried to explain in English,” Wooyoung rambled on, hoping that whatever he pulled out of thin air right now sounded plausible, “but he said something about the diamonds being beautiful, but officially there were flaws.”</p><p>Seonghwa glanced down at the check again, then let out a heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.<br/>
“I’m sorry Seonghwa, I did my best. I know how much it meant for you.”<br/>
Wooyoung reached out and gently let his hand rest on Seonghwa’s shoulder. The man sighed once more, shook his head before looking up at Wooyoung and smiling.<br/>
“It’s not your fault,” he said, and Wooyoung had to keep himself from laughing nervously. “It will be okay.”<br/>
“It will?”</p><p>Seonghwa nodded and stood up, folding the check in half before placing it in the inner pocket of his leather jacket.<br/>
“It’s… definitely not as much as I had hoped for - but with what I already have it should be enough to at least buy the restaurant. If I do most of the work fixing it up myself, it will be cheaper but take longer… the menu would have to be very simple to begin with... “<br/>
He rubbed his chin and Wooyoung could practically see the gears turning in his head to figure out where to go from here.</p><p>“Even if Yunho and Jongho help out it will be some time before the restaurant can actually open, but -”<br/>
Seonghwa glanced at Wooyoung, and caught him entirely by surprise as he pulled him in for an embrace.<br/>
“Thank you. Really, thank you. You are my angel of luck.” He pulled away, gazing down at Wooyoung who felt his cheeks heat up at the fond expression on the other’s face. “Who would have thought it?”</p><p>Before Wooyoung had time to react, Seonghwa leaned down and kissed him.</p><p>It was nothing like last time, when the kiss had been more out of desperation and subterfuge - it was soft and gentle, and it felt… oddly familiar somehow. It was almost as if they had done it before.</p><p>Before he had time to think about it further, Seonghwa pulled away, looking almost as shocked as Wooyoung felt. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he got the chance Wooyoung took a step back, out of the hold Seonghwa had on him and cleared his throat.<br/>
“I, uh… I should get going. Mark is waiting.”</p><p>Seonghwa’s mouth closed as his expression fell.</p><p>“Of course. You shouldn’t be late.”</p><p>They walked side by side in an almost awkward silence to the edge of the park, where Seonghwa hailed a cab. As the car pulled up and Seonghwa opened the door for Wooyoung, they finally looked at each other again.</p><p>“So… I guess this is goodbye,” Wooyoung sighed, seeing Seonghwa nod as he attempted a smile.  “Thank you, Seonghwa. For everything.”</p><p>He leaned in quickly to give Seonghwa a kiss on the cheek, then before the other had time to say anything he got into the cab and closed the door.<br/>
Wooyoung almost didn’t want to look at the other, but after telling the cab driver where he was heading... he took one final look at Seonghwa. </p><p>He was still just standing there, giving Wooyoung his best attempt at a smile with dangerously glistening eyes. Wooyoung didn’t even dare imagine what that might mean. When the cab slowly started rolling forward, the man raised his hand and gave a small wave, mouthing a simple goodbye.</p><p>Wooyoung didn’t look back as the cab drove away. He didn’t want to risk the possibility of Seonghwa seeing the tears running down his cheeks.</p><p><br/>
</p><p>***</p><p><br/>
</p><p>Once Wooyoung had left, Seonghwa wasn’t sure where he’d go - he could have just gone back to the hotel, but he really wasn’t feeling being in the room Wooyoung and Mark had spent the night in right now.</p><p>So instead he walked. He walked until he saw the ocean, and once he arrived he leaned against the railing, taking in the fresh ocean breeze in deep breaths.</p><p>This fucking sucked, and he hated himself for not having had the courage to speak up before Wooyoung left. Who the hell had he turned into?<br/>
Seonghwa wasn’t normally afraid, but the moment he had looked down at Wooyoung after accidentally kissing him, being seconds away from spilling his emotions… he couldn’t do it. </p><p>Feeling the burning of tears threatening to spill, he groaned, rubbing his eyes heavily with his hands before pulling out the packet of cigarettes he’d somehow had the foresight to bring this morning. </p><p>As he took the first drag of his cigarette, he slowly exhaled as he watched the smoke disperse in the air while wishing his feelings would disappear the way the smoke did. Seonghwa couldn’t help but chuckle - if only it were that easy.<br/>
He took another drag of the cigarette, letting his elbows rest against the railing while watching the waves.</p><p>Seonghwa had already started on a second cigarette when he could hear the increasingly loud voices of two people arguing. He normally wouldn’t be bothered to check who the people arguing were, but… the voices seemed familiar, so he turned around - and almost choked on the smoke he’d just inhaled.</p><p>“Junji, please -”</p><p>Why was… why was Mark <em>here</em>, running after Junji when he was supposed to be at the airport with Wooyoung? </p><p>“I don’t want to hear it, Mark! Why don’t you just go back to him?”<br/>
“Oh, please! You’re the one who just went up to another room with that guy like some who-”</p><p>Seonghwa <em>heard</em> the slap Junji gave Mark from where he was standing, then watched the blonde start to walk away, absolutely fuming.<br/>
Mark rubbed his cheek, whatever anger he had clearly dissipating as he watched Junji get further away from him - then he ran after the other.<br/>
“Junji, wait - wait! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean… Please, I love you!”</p><p>Seonghwa, who had intensely been watching the scene unfold, suddenly cursed as the cigarette had burned down far enough to scorch his fingertips. Letting it fall to the ground, he blew on his fingers and looked up just in time to see Mark catch up with Junji and kiss him.</p><p>What the hell was going on? Had Mark lied to Wooyoung? Was he waiting for the man at the airport while he was here still -</p><p>
  <em>“Love is wonderful, isn’t it?”</em>
</p><p>The sudden voice speaking up behind him made Seonghwa jump, whipping his head around only to find himself face to face with Hongjoong. He groaned internally, turning back to see that Mark and Junji were now embracing each other tightly. Hongjoong being here was the last fucking thing he needed right now.</p><p>
<em>“What are you doing here?”</em></p><p>Hongjoong let out a giggle, stepping up so he was right next to Seonghwa as he too watched the couple further down the walkway.<br/>
<em>“Ah, it’s nothing really - someone paid for their hotel room with a stolen credit card. I took care of it.”</em></p><p><em>“Right…”</em> Seonghwa mumbled, forcing himself not to react. The credit card in question might be the one he had used for the second hotel room last night. Clearing his throat, he nodded in Mark and Junji’s direction. “<em>Anyway, that’s not love. Not true love anyway.</em>”<br/>
“<em>And you’d know true love, you mean?</em>” Hongjoong smirked, watching Seonghwa with a quirked eyebrow.<br/>
Seonghwa sighed.<br/>
“<em>Better than you think.</em>”</p><p>Some kind of emotion flashed over Hongjoong’s face, and he reached to pat Seonghwa’s shoulder.
<em>“Speaking of… would you like to hear a love story? I happen to know a very good one.”</em><br/>
<em>“Sure,”</em> Seonghwa rolled his eyes as he picked out a new cigarette and lit it.<em> “Does it have a happy ending?”</em><br/>
<em>“I don’t know yet.”</em><br/>
<em>“You don’t?”</em> Seonghwa groaned, turning to lean against the railing while watching Hongjoong with a frown. <em>“Then how can you even know it’s a good one?”</em><br/>
<em>“Because I have a good feeling about it,”</em> Hongjoong smiled, crossing his arms as he watched Seonghwa with a sparkle in his eye, <em>“I was also hoping you could help me with it.”</em><br/>
<em>“Me?”</em> Seonghwa scoffed, taking a drag of his cigarette as Hongjoong kept smiling at him. It was starting to feel a bit weird. <em>“How am I supposed to help?”</em></p><p>
  <em>“Well… first of all - I want you to imagine an airplane.”</em>
</p><p><br/>
</p><p>***</p><p><br/>
</p><p>Wooyoung had cried all the way to the airport. He had also cried while checking in and going through security - getting some weird looks from the staff along the way, cried while waiting for boarding to start, and up until he sat down in his seat on the first of two flights that would take him away from South Korea.</p><p>Away from Seonghwa.</p><p>Wiping the tears away with the sleeve of his sweater, he took a deep breath and leaned back, forcing himself to stop crying. Funny how he wasn’t even scared of flying this time - just heartbroken. </p><p>He closed his eyes, trying to think of something, <em>anything</em>, that could distract him, but nothing worked. His mind kept going back to Seonghwa.</p><p>“Wooyoung…?”

Great. Now he was hearing his voice on top of it as well. He squeezed his eyes shut even harder, shaking his head to try and block out the sound of what sounded like Seonghwa’s chuckle next to him.</p><p>“Wooyoung… You’re not scared of flying anymore?”</p><p>Could it really be…? </p><p>He was scared of opening his eyes now. He didn’t want to risk hoping only to find out he was imagining it. Instead he just nodded in response.</p><p>“Are you thinking about that Lauv-song again? Planning a choreography, maybe?”</p><p>“Oh, I have a plan,” Wooyoung smiled with a tremble in his voice. “But… that’s not what I’m thinking about.”</p><p>“What are you thinking about?”</p><p>He finally opened his eyes, and turned to his left.</p><p>“You,” he breathed, seeing Seonghwa using one leg to kneel down on the seat next to him.</p><p>Seonghwa’s gaze turned misty as he reached over to take Wooyoung’s hand into his own, interlocking their fingers as he looked down at their hands with a soft smile.</p><p>“And I’ve been thinking…” he said, rubbing his thumb gently over the back of Wooyoung’s hand, “you… shouldn’t be flying anywhere.”</p><p>“I shouldn’t?” Wooyoung whispered.</p><p>“I’m sure of it, actually.”<br/>
“You… you are?”</p><p>Seonghwa finally looked up at Wooyoung.</p><p>“I think… I want you.”<br/>
“You want me...?”<br/>
“That’s it. I want you -  if you’ll have me.”</p><p>Wooyoung let out the breath he hadn’t even been aware he was holding, giggling softly as his face broke out in a huge smile. He could see Seonghwa start smiling too as he squeezed Wooyoung’s hand a little tighter.</p><p>“I think… I want you too,” Wooyoung whispered as they both leaned in closer.</p><p>When their lips met this time, it started out as soft and gentle as the one they’d shared earlier that same day. With a content sigh, Wooyoung pressed closer, feeling Seonghwa’s free hand grip his thigh as the other’s tongue gently prodded against his lips. </p><p>It didn’t take long after Seonghwa’s tongue first touched Wooyoung’s own for him to pull back in surprise as he looked at the other.</p><p>“Wait - you have -”</p><p>Sheepishly, Seonghwa stuck out his tongue to reveal the metal barbell going through it. Wooyoung’s mind went straight into overdrive with the realisation.</p><p>“So - back on that bus, the dream I had -”</p><p>Right when Seonghwa opened his mouth to answer, someone cleared their throat next to their seats, causing them both to look at the source of the sound.</p><p>“Guys, I’m sorry to interrupt, but… they’re about to take off,” Hongjoong said while glancing at the flight attendants. “I can’t hold them up any longer.”</p><p>Seonghwa turned back to look at Wooyoung.</p><p>“I know it’s all really sudden, but - will you stay… here? With me?”</p><p>Wooyoung smiled… and gave a final nod.</p><p>“Yes. I’d love that.”</p><p><br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>well - there we go. last chapter 🥺<br/>thanks to everyone who's been reading and commenting, you inspired me to keep going at a time where i was ready to just give up and delete everything ❤️</p><p>i have kind of been planning to write an epilogue for this fic too, however i'm not sure whether i actually will yet... so if that's something you'd like to see, PLEASE comment and let me know!<br/>(the epilogue would also give insight into what's happened with the other members/ships lol)</p><p>i'd also like to bring back <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1V-H9aKIpf5OBcbYbeAKpoOkJHU_pbxEdjZxpXQzpSZ4/edit?usp=sharing">this presentation i made</a> where i gathered all my references for the fanfic, and as a final "gift"....<br/><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3aQMHMQer7uB4fYsjO1dXj?si=cFPsHfFkQg6LUG5iRh8qsg">this here is a spotify-playlist</a> where i've been collecting and arranging songs for the au :) (and yes, the lauv-song featured in the playlist is the same one wooyoung is humming at the start of the fic when he first meets seonghwa)</p><p>as for what the future holds - i have a bunch of wip's in different stages of planning, so there will be more ateez fics coming from me :) that is if anyone wants to read them 😂<br/>how soon i can't say because i still have university to deal with lol</p><p>thank you yet again for reading! i appreciate every single one of you ❤️✨</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i'm also on <a href="https://twitter.com/aurohwa">twitter</a> so feel free to check it out and follow if you'd like :)<br/>i also have a <a href="https://curiouscat.me/aurohwa_">curiouscat</a> in case there's anything you want to ask me.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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